Save the Innocent
by Infinite Vibrance
Summary: Yugi, is accused for a crime that he believes he committed long ago, but there are secrets not being told.For his crime, his father punishes him, being controlled by the buzz of the alcohol. Can Yami save the innocent? Rated M for rape,abuse, yaoi...
1. Chapter 1

~Fallen's Little Corner!~

So! This is my new fanfic Save the Innocent. Corny Title??? Too baddd you all must live with ittt mwahahahah :D So in this fanfic there will be fluff, lemonnnn, rape (if you no likey rapey then do skip that part when you come to it.) and other things soon to come. As you can all tell this is a YugixYami fanfic for all you Yugioh fans out there :]

Yugi: Please Enjoy Fallen's new story guys!

Yami: And don't forget to read her other stories:

Match Made By Destiny, Shattered, The Spell of Lyrica.

Me: Thanks for the promoting Yamiii and Yugiii :D Lurve you both ^_^

Enjoyyyy Chapter 1...

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+The Innocent.+

Yugi stared out the window longingly as he washed the dishes. The clock ticked and ticked at an agonizing pace. Any minute now his father, Kyouske Motou, would come home from work. If the chores weren't done… there would be Hell to pay.

Quickly he dried off the last plate and began to untie his apron. Yugi was about to take it off when he heard the door open then slam. His dad was home. Yugi looked left and right searching for a hiding spot but, he was too late.

His father was leaning against the kitchen door frame. His clothes were unkempt with his shirt stained and rumpled. His tie was in the same condition as well. Yugi's father reeked of liquor.

"What no hi for your father?" he slurred, "I thought I taught you better than that."

"I-I'm sorry father…" Yugi said in a small voice. If this kept up then Yugi knew he would be suffering a world of pain.

Yugi's father dragged his feet across the floor until he was face to face with the small little teen. When he breathed Yugi could smell the booze and cigarettes that were mixed together and fought off the impulse to gag.

Kyouske took one of his blonde bangs in his hands and twirled it around his finger, "Now Yugi… what did I tell you about how we apologize in this house?" he stroked the teen's face softly. Yugi felt repulsed.

"I won't." he said in a small voice.

His father raised an eyebrow, his muddy purple eyes turned into slits, "What was that?"

"I-I said I w-won't." he said a little bit louder.

Kyouske became infuriated and pulled hard on Yugi's bang causing the teen to whimper, "Like hell you won't Runt! You will do as I say or you'll be sleeping on the fucking streets till you die!" he pushed Yugi down so that his face was directly in front of his pants zipper, "Suck me off Runt."

Yugi shook his head furiously, "No! I won't!"

His father slapped him hard across the face. Yugi's bright amethyst eyes widened before dulling to the same muddy purple as his dad's. He was already gone and all that was left was his body.

"Now Yugi," Kyouske began unzipping his pants, "Suck me off." he licked his lips slowly.

Yugi silently nodded and began sucking. At first his pace was slow, but then it increased faster and faster until Kyouske climaxed.

"You're getting better Yugi. Now take off your clothes."

Yugi hesitated. He felt his mind coming back into focus, and the fear that was once hidden coming out full force. He shook his head furiously, not caring that it was giving him a headache and began to scramble on the floor. Yugi's resistance infuriated Kyouske, so he grabbed Yugi's arm and flung him across the kitchen.

The smaller teen's body hit the kitchen wall hard before slumping into a heap on the floor. Kyouske stalked over to the crumpled teen and kicked his limp body.

"Wake up slut, I know you're just pretending." he slurred. The effects of the alcohol only getting stronger.

Yugi arose slowly, this time he was too far gone to stop himself from undressing. When he was completely naked he leaned against the table and spread his legs.

"That's a good slut. Papa is very happy. Now let me fuck you senseless." Without any preparation or warning Kyouske shoved himself deep inside of Yugi. The little teen let out a scream which only turned on his father even more.

Each thrust was more sloppy and crueler than the next one, but Kyouske didn't care. He loved to see his son's body caked with sweat, his belly covered in semen, and his insides dripping with his own fluid. He loved seeing Yugi's pained expression every time he slammed into him. He loved it to the extent where he would do Yugi over and over again, until the teen passed out.

Kyouske exploded into Yugi several timse before pulling out. Yugi collapsed on the floor, his eyes half lidded, his amethysts orbs still dulled. His breathing was irregular and all over his body was dirt semen and sweat.

His father smirked insanely, "Did you enjoy that Slut?"

Yugi didn't answer, he just stared at the ceiling blankly.

Kyouske bent down to eye level and slapped Yugi hard, his hand print etched on his face, "Answer me Slut!"

Yugi whimpered and curled into fetal position as his father began to kick him hard in various places. "Stop… please…"

His father grabbed him by his tri-colored hair and spit on Yugi's dirtied face, "Don't tell me what to do Slut. I'm the father here and I make the rules! You know why I keep you here? I keep you here because you're a good fuck! There's no love in it or anything, no one loves you, so as punishment you're staying here until you die. Punishment for killing your mother."

Silent tears streaked down Yugi's face as the words that his father said kept replaying through his mind. 'It's my fault… I'm a killer so this is punishment? If this is judgment then… I should take all the pain. No one will save me.' Yugi was dragged out of the kitchen into the living room and was thrown against the wall once again.

Kyouske latched the boy onto the wall using a chain, not even bothering to cover up Yugi's naked body.

"You'll stay here for the night Slut until morning. Don't move a muscle unless I say so or else you're dead." he kissed Yugi sloppily on the lips, "Good night." he said with a smirk before he stalked upstairs.

When he was out of earshot Yugi puked. The fresh taste of bile and liquor burned in his mouth. His stomach was in knots and he felt like he was dripping in and out of consciousness.

'At least I survived another night…' he thought darkly. Yugi tried to move his arm, he could feel that still. He moved his other arm, that worked properly as well. Along with his legs, everything seemed to be fine. Except for that fact that every inch of his body was in pain.

Yugi already learned how to live with it, His father told him he was reconciling for his sins. For killing his mother. He felt tears prickled his eyes but squeezed them shut. He couldn't cry, not when no one would be there to wipe them away. He learned in life that he couldn't rely on other people, that crying was useless when no one was there to comfort you.

The tri-colored teen tried to find the most comfortable position. Since the chain was close to the floor, he decided it would be okay to just lie there. His father would forget what happened in the morning after the affects of the alcohol wore off, besides he already knew how to get out of the metal chain. So for now he'd just lie there staring at the dark emptiness before he decided it was okay to unchain himself and walk upstairs to take a bath.

The floor was cold and hard and very uncomfortable but Yugi managed to sleep somehow, but during the night he was plagued with nightmares. Nightmares of blood, screams, deaths, and conviction.

+The same night+

The tri-colored teen unpacked the last of his belongings in his room. His finger tip lingered on the corner of the oak frame that his family picture fit so nicely in. It reminded him of happier times, gingerly he placed the picture on his desk and flopped on his bed.

He gazed up at the ceiling his thoughts racing a mile a minute.

'New school… new friends… new romance?' Yami shook his head and laughed out loud, "What are you talking about Yami? No way are you going to find someone in a school like Domino High." he laughed a little more before they died down. Leaving him with silence. 'Maybe… that's not such a bad idea after all.'

As he closed his eyes images swam through his head, some were blurred and others were as clear as day. One image that stood out to him though was an image of himself and another person embraced in each others arms. Funny thing was, the other person looked just like him.

Yami chuckled, 'Knew I could be self centered but that was ridiculous.' He turned to his side and glanced at the clock. It was ten o'clock.

"Okay Yami, you got to go to bed. Mom would be on your case right now if you were still up." he leaned forward and placed a kiss on the photograph on the desk, "Night guys." and drifted off to sleep.

+Why must we waste tears that no one else is going to see?+

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So guys what do you think? Lurve it? Hate it? New fav story? Ahahah :] I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1! And yes i know i used the name Kyouske again (For any of you that has read Shattered.) But i just couldn't think of another nameeee D: So i was like: Oh okai i'll use Kyouske!

Yami: You're originality really shines there Fallen...

Me: Shush boy! Or you shall lose a limb! :D

Yami:... Which limb?

Me: You're better off not knowing ^^

Yami: -__-"

Yugi: -giggles- Read and Review guys! Fallen would also like you all to know that the next chapter of Lyrica is coming out soon, and her next story to be out will be: School Days!

Me: I may change that title later on Idk. But heads up its a Get Backers Fanfic :]


	2. Chapter 2

Ello Lurvely's (Too lazy to write Fallen's Little Corner...) Anyway it has been one week since chapter one of Save the Innocent has been out so it is now time for chapter TWO! :D Just got up to 100 hits I'm pretty damn happy bahahah :D

Kaiba: Don't let it get to your head Fallen.

Me: Shut up Kaiba! Just remember your fate is in MY hands :D

Kaiba: You think that's supposed to scare me? Seto Kaiba? President of Kaiba Corp.

Me: It should... because I could just kill you :)

Kaiba: But you don't like writing character deaths...

Me: That could very well change Kaiba...

Kaiba:...

Me: Hehehe :D Well then guys you know what to do!

Read, Review, Enjoy!

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+Save The Innocent: The Same Night+

Yugi awoke in the dead of night, he was shivering uncontrollably, 'Damn it, Father forgot to turn on the heat.' He decided right now would be a good time to unchain himself. Yugi reached inside his hair and pulled out a bobby pin. He always thought that using a bobby pin to unlock a door only worked in the movies, until he found out that it worked rather well in real life.

Slowly and carefully he slid the bobby pin into the keyhole and shimmied it around. When he heard the faint click of the chain unlatching he slowly removed it from around his neck and clasped it shut again. As quietly as possible he crept through the living room, each step sending pain through out his small body.

As he approached the stairs Yugi tripped and fell on the floor with a loud thud. He bit his lip hard to stop himself from screaming. If he woke his father up now the same thing would happen again, only ten times worse. Yugi surveyed the damage, it seemed like he tripped over one of Kyouske's disposed beer bottles.

The bottle was broken in half and the glass shards were scattered around the floor. The shards pierced the bottom of Yugi's foot, a faint trickle of blood could be seen in the darkness. Yugi let out a sigh , 'One more thing to clean off.' he thought.

He got up from the floor and silently walked up the stairs. He paused when he was near Kyouske's door and listened intently. He could hear him snoring from the inside, with a little more confidence he went to his bedroom. Luckily, Yugi's room was connected to the shower so it wouldn't be as loud.

Yugi turned on the faucet and let the water envelop him. The blood, sweat, and semen all blended in with the water and slid towards the drain. He stood under the water for at least an hour, just thinking how he was lucky to survive another night. Yugi was surprised his father didn't just kill him, wouldn't that be considered as a paid debt for his sin?

The tri-colored teen turned off the faucet and stepped out of the shower, covering himself with a fluffy white towel. As he made his way out he stopped in front of the full length mirror. His eyes looked so less shinier than before, he was also skinnier too. 'Have I lost weight?' he thought as he slid his hands over his hips. Yugi winced at the small amount of pain.

"Okay Yugi you can't be staring at yourself all night, it's already too late. You have to go to bed to get ready for school in the morning." he told himself. Shaking off the few water droplets that clung to his head he walked to the main room.

The tri-colored teen pulled out a black shirt and purple star printed pajama bottoms from the dresser . After that, he eased his way into bed. At first he couldn't get to sleep. The sounds of branches hitting his window, and the sound of his father snoring a couple of doors down hadn't help to ease his insomnia.

"If I close my eyes, I'll just have that dream again." he thought out loud. Yugi didn't care if no one could hear him, he needed to say this. "When will this all stop…? Haven't I done enough… will mother nor father ever forgive me?" Yugi clasped his hands together tightly and closed his eyes, "Please… help me… help find someone to save me."

When he was done he curled himself into a ball, willing himself to sleep. When he finally began to drift all he saw was darkness, and that for Yugi was the best thing to happen tonight.

+The Next Morning+

"Cousin wake up." a voice said. His tone serious.

Yami shifted in bed, turning on his side opposite of the brunette, "Mm… I don't wanna Kaiba." he whined in his sleep.

"Cousin do not let me repeat myself." Kaiba said a little more sternly.

Yami replied with a obnoxious snore.

The brunette gritted his teeth, his eyes clenched in agitation, "Damn it! Yami get your ass out of bed now!"

Yami sat straight up. It wasn't everyday that his cousin cussed, or yelled for that matter.

"Alright alright, I'm up." he yawned as he lazily got out of bed.

Kaiba sighed and rubbed his temple, "You are the most aggravating person on the planet."

Yami smirked, "But you still love me cousin."

"Tch, hardly. I'm only putting up with you because we're family. If it wasn't for the fact that some of your DNA is a part of mine then you'd be out on the streets."

Yami faked pouted, "Now that was mean Kaiba."

"You'll get over it. Now get dressed, we're leaving for school in thirty minutes and I do not want you to make me tardy on the first day."

Yami saluted, "Yes sir!"

Kaiba glared ice blue daggers at the crimson eyed teen before disappearing down stairs. Yami yawned once again, 'Today's the first day Yami, but what to wear?' he thought as he stared at his wardrobe. He had to wear the school jacket and pants but along with that other things like shirts and accessories he could go all out with them.

"Hmm, I'm thinking leather would be nice." he smirked. If he wanted to get that high school romance he was dreaming about he had to look his best. Deciding on a sleeveless leather shirt, studded belt, black choker and a pair of leather ankle boots. Yami was ready, "Domino High eat your heart out." he winked.

When he was down stairs Kaiba gave him a once over and scowled in disgust.

"Can't you wear something decent?" he asked annoyed. While Yami was sporting all leather Kaiba found it appropriate to stick with the casual look. A black shirt underneath his jacket, pants, and black trainers.

"Actually I could, but I prefer leather." Yami replied as he took a bite out of his toast.

Kaiba shook his head and took a sip from his coffee, "You better watch yourself cousin, the administration at Domino High don't take well to rebels."

Yami took a sip of his coffee and gagged, he hated the stuff. He got up from the table to dump out his coffee, on his way to the sink he said, "I am not a rebel Kaiba. I just don't like the rules as all."

"Rules are the things that keep life stable Cousin. I don't know what they taught you in Egypt but-"

Yami slammed the coffee cup down on the counter, "It doesn't matter what they taught me in Egypt. I'll wear what I want damn it."

For awhile there was silence until Kaiba placed his cup on the table and scooted his chair back. He glanced at his watch, "Time to go. Ready?"

Yami silently nodded and followed his cousin outside to the limo. The windows were tinted on the outside was the Kaiba Corp symbol.

"Do we really have to go to school in that?" Yami asked raising an elegant eyebrow.

"You want to make an impression don't you?" Yami nodded, "Then stop complaining and get in."

Yami obeyed the orders and got in the limo. With a wave of Kaiba's hand the limo drove out of the estate and down the street.

+Innocent: A New Day for New Beginnings.+

Yugi readjusted the straps on his book bag. The bag was tattered and dirtied from years of use but for now it was the most reliable thing he had. He liked the feel of the scratchy, rough surface of the straps. With a sigh he pulled up his pants that were currently falling down again. They would always drop off from his hips because his uniform was always a size or two big. Gently he stuffed his book bag into the locker and pulled out all the things he needed before closing his locker. Out of nowhere a hyperactive blonde appeared and smothered Yugi into a hug.

"Yug! I missed you soooo much! How yah been bud?" the blonde asked. Yugi winced at the pain, the blonde immediately knew what was wrong and let go. "Sorry Yug I shoulda been more careful."

Yugi gave a small smile, "It's fine Jou, I should have warned you." he gave his friend the best hug he could, "I really appreciate the hug though."

Jou gave a huge smile, a red tint visible on his face, "Anytime Yugi, but really." his tone of voice changed to a serious one, "Why don't you leave your dad? You could always crash with me you know that."

The small teen shook his head, his blonde bangs moving along with the motion, "No, it's fine really. I don't mind staying there. Besides… I can't just leave… not until." he stopped short. Jou caught the pained expression on his friend's face and sighed.

"Alright Yugi, but if things get way out off hand you come to me got it?" he pointed to himself and gave a mighty smirk.

Yugi laughed, "Got it."

The bell rang, announcing everyone to go to their homerooms. Jou jumped at the sound.

"Shit! Does dat thing have to be so fucking loud!"

Yugi giggled, "Jou you should be used to it already, we've heard it over a hundred times in the past three years of high school."

"So! They should still give a warning before blasting dat thing."

Both Yugi and Jou both jogged to their classroom, the pain that Yugi was feeling was slowly going away. When they arrived at the door they noticed that a group of girls were crowding around the center of the room.

"What da hell is this?" Jou asked loudly.

Yugi shrugged, "I don't know Jou but their in the way of my desk." he looked up at his blonde friend, "Mind helping me get to it?"

Jou patted his arms, "Leave it to me Yug." Grabbing his friend by the shoulders he pushed Yugi through the crowd of onlookers. Making car sounds and other weird noises along the way.

They came to a halt at Yugi's desk where someone was currently sitting at chatting away to some girl. The strange thing was, he looked just like Yugi.

"Yo Yugi?" Jou whispered, even though it was more like a yelling type of whisper than a quiet one, "You never told me you had a twin. When was this?"

Yugi blinked in confusion. His amethyst eyes showing curiosity. "Jou you should know I don't have a twin. Let alone a brother."

"But he looks just like you! How do you explain that?"

Yugi pondered on this for a moment then shrugged to his friend.

"Well he better get out of your seat then, homeroom's about to start." Jou said.

Yugi nodded and cleared his throat, "Um… excuse me." he said in a soft voice.

The look alike just kept on talking.

"Excuse me?" Yugi said a little bit louder, but to no avail.

Jou felt his temper rising and slammed his fists on the desk, "Damn it you prick. Answer him!"

The look alike turned to face the two, he was obviously annoyed but that seemed to pass when he saw Yugi. Yami literally froze, 'It was him, the guy from my dreams.' he thought.

Yugi shifted nervously in his spot. He could feel the heat rushing to his face. 'Why is that guy looking at me like that? And why does he look so much like me?' By now the group had already disbanded and now it was just Yugi, Jou, and Yami.

"Who are you?" the look alike asked. His curiosity was obvious.

"Umm… Yugi, Yugi Motou." he replied nervously.

Yami found it cute that this guy was blushing so much. He never met anyone like him, "That's a cute name." this statement caused Yugi to blush even more, "By the way my name's Yami Atemu."

"N-Nice to meet you." Yugi said. He didn't know why he was acting like this. Maybe it was because Yami's shirt revealed a lot of his muscles, or maybe because his crimson eyes were so bright, so piercing he felt himself melt under the fiery gaze. Or maybe… maybe it was because they looked so identical. The only difference being their complexion. Yugi being pale and Yami being tan.

Jou looked annoyed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Yippie we know each other's names, but if yah don't mind you're in my friend's seat."

Yami gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry about that Yugi I didn't know."

"Already causing trouble Cousin?" A voice asked.

Yami turned around and groaned, "I thought I lost you!"

"Well you thought wrong Cousin, and may I remind you that you shouldn't be trying to seduce everyone you see. Especially Yugi."

Yami raised an eyebrow, 'He can't tell me what to do! But… why is he so familiar with Yugi?" the teen shook his head, "Kaiba obviously you don't know the difference between seducing and having a mild conversation."

"Wait did you just say Kaiba?" Jou asked, his face looking a bit green.

Yami nodded, "Yeah what about the snob?"

Jou turned around and screamed, "No it can't be you! Damn it! This can't be happening!"

Both Yugi and Yami were showing looks of confusion.

"Umm Jou?" Yugi asked confused, "Is there something wrong? Did Kaiba-kun do something?"

'Kaiba-kun?! He calls him Kaiba-kun!?' Yami thought with disbelief. He had no idea why he felt so jealous about this but he couldn't help himself.

"Aww, Puppy you're still as kind as ever." Kaiba said with a smirk, his ice blue eyes dancing with mischief.

"Don't call me that damn it! I'm not your fucking puppy."

"Puppy," Kaiba said ignoring Jou's outburst, "You don't have to lie. Yugi's your friend right?"

"Lie…?" Yugi asked cocking his head to the side in an adorable fashion, "Jou what's going on?"

"U-Umm.. You see… Yugi… actually…" Jou stuttered.

"To put it simpler," Kaiba wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist and pulled him closer, "we're an item."

Jou blushed and Yugi gasped. Yami was the one to seem the least bit fazed.

"I always knew you were gay Kaiba but I didn't think you had an animal fetish." Yami said with a smirk.

Jou blushed even more and Kaiba scowled. Yugi started to feel very uncomfortable with the conversation and decided it would be better to sit down and avoid it as much as possible. Easing into his seat he pulled out all his materials. Pencils, books, notebooks, etc. What he really wanted though was his sketchbook.

He used his sketchbook whenever he wanted to draw, normally he did it just for fun but nowadays he used it when he wanted to draw out his emotions. Carefully he began to draw, blocking out everything around him. At first it was just lines, but then those lines took shape. He added a couple of shades there, and darkened a few lines there.

Yami peeked at the smaller teen, already blocking out Jou and Kaiba's argument. More interested in what Yugi was doing.

"Yugi what are you doing?" Yami asked in a whisper. The smaller teen jumped, he hadn't noticed that Yami was kneeling next to his desk, eyes interested in what he was doing.

Yugi brought his sketchbook close to his chest, "N-Nothing really… Yami-kun." he said shyly.

"Were you drawing before?" Yami asked curiously. Yugi stared at the crimson eyed teen before nodding slowly. Yami chuckled, "Mind if I take a look?"

"I-I don't know." Yugi said nervously, "I don't think I'm very good… others have told me so." he said softly. Yami caught the sad glint in those amethyst eyes and felt an urge to hold the young teen overwhelm him. He stopped the impulse and gently eased the sketchbook out of Yugi's hands.

He flipped through the images, taking his time to examine each one. In all honesty he thought he'd have to give one of those lines like: "Oh this is so good! You should draw more often!" or something where you really don't want to hurt the others feelings. But in all honesty, Yugi had amazing talent.

The drawings were so intricate, so detailed that Yami could sense raw emotion from the sketches. The one though that stood out the most was a picture of a woman holding a baby. The only thing was… the mom was in a casket.

"Yugi… these are…" he began to say.

"Bad? I thought so." Yugi took the sketchbook from Yami's hand gingerly and smiled at him sadly, "You don't have to tell me Yami-kun it's fine."

Yami shook his head, "No, actually they're really good Yugi. More than good they're amazing. You should draw more… you really do have a talent for it." he said with a heart warming smile.

Yugi felt his heart thump twice as fast, the way Yami was smiling at him made him feel weird. Yugi covered his growing blush with his bangs, "T-Thanks Yami-kun." he said softly.

Jou, finally coming back into the conversation leaned in and gently tapped Yugi on the head, "Yug, help me get this sadist off of me! He doesn't know personal space!"

Yugi chuckled, "I'm sorry Jou but I don't want to get into a lover's quarrel.

Yami laughed and Jou did his best growl, even though if Yugi was in the same situation he might have said the same thing, "Thanks Yugi! Thanks a lot!" he said as he was dragged by Kaiba to some seats in the back.

"Lucky Jou…" Yugi said dreamily.

"You think so?" Yami asked leaning his frame against the desk.

Yugi nodded, "Yeah… he has someone who cares and loves him, that's great."

"What about you Yugi? Do you have someone like that?"

Yami caught a glimpse of something in Yugi's eyes but before the small teen could answer the teacher came in announcing it was time for class. Yami silently cursed and walked off to his seat. Yugi stared at the sketchbook beneath him, gazing intently at his drawing.

"Not anymore." he whispered to himself alone.

* * *

Phew, chapter 2 is done done and done! And suprisingly I really don't know what to say right now... shocker huh? :D

Yami: Tch, you got that right.

Me: SHUSH YAMI OR I'LL LOCK YOU IN A CLOSET :O

Yami: Fine I'll shush but only because caps give me a migraine...

Me:.. GOOD :D! Bahaha okayyy, I'd like to thank all the reviews I got, and hope to get more. I really like this story :D Also just a little reminder, if any of you guys have read Match Made By Destiny, I'm thinking of making a sequel for it. There's a brief (kinda crappy... working on it) summary about the main jist of the sequel on my profile. If you think I should go ahead and do it check out my pole and click yes! If not then click no! Well then I'll see you all again next timeeee :D

Hope you all enjoyed, don't forget to reviewwww :3


	3. Chapter 3

Ello my lurvelys! (Was to lazy to write Fallen's Little Corner *_*) Anywhoooo! :D B/c it is June 1st, I decided to post Chapter 3 of Save the Innocent. I'm really liking how my story is going so far, so I hope you'll all like it too.

Jou: Because if you don't Fallen will cry in her corner, where she stuffs her face with junk food!

Me: JOU :O DON'T TELL PPL THAT!

Jou: -Evil smile-

Me:... That's it... I'm killing you :/

Kaiba: You wouldn't dare.

Me: Try me...

Yugi: -nervous laughter- Well... ignoring the tention please enjoy Chapter 3 :)

Yami: Read and review for are authoress.

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+Save the Innocent: I just met you… yet it's like I've known you all my life.+

It was lunch time at Domino High and Yugi was eating lunch at his usual spot: the sakura tree. He always sat there because he liked the view that it gave him. The view of the school, the groups of people that sat and talked and laughed as they ate. The street with the huge buildings and the different colored cars. It gave him such inspiration for his drawings.

The tree gave him comfort, it was his recluse during the day. If he wanted to think he would just go to the sakura tree and let the surrounding nature keep him comfort. The wind that caressed his skin so softly, the petals that made it look like he was glowing. The tree was one of the few things that made him happy in the world.

Normally though, Jou would sit with him under the tree but since Kaiba insisted that he ate with him Jou couldn't refuse. Of course he asked Yugi to come with them but he shook his head stubbornly and told them that he would only be a nuisance.

"Oh come on Yug, you know you won't be any trouble at all." Jou was still trying to convince Yugi to eat with them.

Yugi shook his head, "No really Jou it's fine. You and Kaiba should be alone, besides I'd like some time to myself."

"Are you sure Yugi?"

"I'm sure." Yugi said with a smile.

Right now Yugi didn't feel to sure at the moment. He actually hated feeling alone, it was the worst feeling anyone could feel. But Yugi hated feeling like he was a bother so he decided not to eat lunch with them. Now he was debating on whether he should have said yes or not.

'Yugi you already made your choice, you can't go back now.' he took out his sketchbook and flipped to a blank page, 'Drawing will get my mind off of things.' Yugi began to draw, at first it was just lines but those lines soon took shape. In no time at all Yugi was in the world of his imagination.. He was so sucked in with what he was drawing he hadn't noticed that someone sat beside him and was currently playing with one of his bangs.

"Hey there Yugi." said a deep voice.

Yugi yelped and jumped a little in the air, the little food that he had toppling over in the process.

Yami chuckled, "Sorry Yugi didn't mean to make you jump there."

Yugi shook his head, "It's alright. I should have been paying more attention." he started to clean up the mess he made while picking up his sketchbook.

"What are you doing eating alone Yugi?" Yami asked curiously, "Aren't you going to eat with Jou?"

Yugi gave him a sad smile, "I don't want to get in their way, so I decided to eat out here. Besides I normally eat alone."

"With only that much food? It doesn't seem like enough." he said pointing out the scattered food. Only one sandwich and a drink.

"It's enough." Yugi said.

Yami looked at him skeptically, "That can't be enough. You have to eat more or else you'll turn into skin and bones."

Yugi giggled, "Really Yami-kun it's okay. But I'm glad you care so much." he said as he smiled brightly.

Yami felt a brush creep on his face. Yugi was just too darn cute, "Well at least eat some of my food as compensation for messing up yours."

"No I couldn't possibly!"

"Just eat it Yugi." Yami said with a smile. Putting the food on Yugi's lap. Yugi couldn't say no to Yami's stubbornness and dug in. His eyes widened in surprise.

"This is really good!"

Yami smiled, "I'm glad you like it. Kaiba made sure I wouldn't eat what he deemed "unworthy" at school. He has some image to up hold here or whatever." he waved it off with his hand. Yugi giggled and Yami smiled. "Don't worry eat as much as you like. I've had my fill."

"Are you-"

"-Yes I'm positive." Yugi wasted no time finishing the rest off his food. When he was finished he burped, not too loud but loud enough to cause Yami to laugh. "That was cute."

Yugi blushed furiously, "E-Excuse me… I feel so embarrassed now."

Yami chucked, "Don't be we all have embarrassing moments. Except that moment was adorable."

'Adorable…?' Yugi thought. 'No one has ever called me that except for mother… does that mean he thinks… I'm adorable?'

"YAMI-KUN!" a very high, very girl-like scream erupted through the air. Yami cringed, he really hated voices so high-pitched. Yugi on the other hand started to panic.

"What was that?" he held his hands to his ears and winced, "It sounded like nails on a chalkboard."

"That…was Anzu…" Yugi's voice was small and barely came out as a whisper. Was he scared? And if so what for?

"Oh there you are Yami-kun." Anzu plopped down right next to Yami. So close it was like she was on top of him. "I was looking all over for you." she slid even closer to Yami. Yami was feeling pretty claustrophobic

"Why would you be looking for me? I barely know you." Yami inched away, but with each inch Anzu followed. Yugi was feeling uncomfortable and wanted to leave as soon as possible, but his legs wouldn't move.

"Well silly, the reason why I came looking for you was to get to know you." she laughed, "You'll find out that I'm a very fun person once you get to know me."

"I'd rather not get to know you. If you don't mind."

"Why not?" she whined.

"Because you seem annoying to deal with. Besides you just interrupted my conversation with Yugi."

"Yugi… Yugi Motou?" Anzu became very interested. Yugi gulped, this was not going too well. He had to leave… now. Quickly he rushed to grab all his things

"I-I think I should go now… S-Sensei wants- Eep!" Yugi shrieked when he felt a cold hand grab his own arm. He felt himself being tugged backwards and fell hard on the ground. His already painful body was screaming out in agonizing pain. Yugi didn't dare to scream though, because Yami was there. He didn't want to make such a big deal of his pain so he whimpered, but on the inside he cried.

"What's the rush Yugi?" Anzu's words were purely acid. Directed towards the fallen teen, "I'd thought you'd be happy to see me." her smile was all fake. Anzu held a terrible grudge against Yugi, for something he did not commit. To her, what Yugi did was a sin, a crime to all mankind. And for that, the teen must pay. She made sure that each day was a living nightmare for the amethyst eyed boy. Being the most popular girl in school, made it easy to get away with the tortures she did to Yugi.

"I… I…" Yugi stuttered. Pure fear in his voice. Yami was confused, but at the same time angry. Somehow someway, Anzu had made it so that Yugi was in fact terrified of her. So terrified that his body was shaking and his whole demeanor had changed from that to quiet and polite to down right fearful.

He couldn't stand seeing Yugi in such pain, such agony. He had to help him.

"Anzu let him go." Yami's tone was serious. His crimson eyes were slit in anger.

"Oh come on Yami-kun. I was only trying to have a little fun." she laughed it off like it was no big deal, but her grip on Yugi's arms tightened.

"Fun? You think Yugi shaking in fear is fun?" Anzu shrugged as if it didn't matter. Yami couldn't take it anymore. He stomped over to Yugi and grabbed the small boy from his captor. Holding onto him so closely, so securely, Yugi was afraid he might break. Yami was holding onto him like his life depended on it. "Well if this is your form of entertainment then I'd rather not get to know you." Yami shifted Yugi's position so that he was carrying him bridal style. "I hope to never see you again." he said with a smile before walking off.

Anzu felt her blood boiling, her anger rising. She ripped at the bits of grass that were on the ground, biting her lip so hard that it bled. 'Yugi… you take everything away from me!' She got up from the floor and brushed the dust from her clothes. She watched in anger as she saw the two walk away farther and farther from her. 'I swear Yugi… I'll make you so miserable you'd wish you'd died that night.' She turned on her heel and walked off in the other direction.

The sakura tree, was one of the sole witnesses to this attack. It's petals fell one by one in sympathy for the young teen. The wind whistled through the branches, signaling the tree that it too, felt sympathy towards the boy. But… for now they could do nothing… for the boy seemed to gain a new protector.

+I'm in your arms, and for once the reason isn't to cause me pain.+

"Yugi are you okay?" Yami was currently sitting in the chair next to the bed in the nurse's office. Yugi blinked once, twice, three times. His purple amethyst eyes slowly getting adjusted to the dimness in the room. He didn't remember that much, only that he was having lunch with Yami before Anzu came. He shuddered, Anzu was out to get him. But who could blame her? Yugi was just a sin in human form. He could do nothing right, and only bring pain to people he wanted to cherish the most. Or so he thought.

"Yugi…?" Yami was now getting very concerned. The lying teen hadn't responded. He rubbed Yugi's cheek gently.

Yugi's eyes widened, a blush crept on his face. He didn't know what to do, Yami was petting his face, it wasn't anything painful. But the feeling that was coming over Yugi was a nice one. For once someone wasn't out to convict him.

"I'm fine Yami-kun. Really." he smiled, "Thank you… back there… I didn't know…"

"What's with you and Anzu?" Yami asked straight out. Yugi froze, he didn't want to give Yami any details of his past… not now. If he did, he was afraid Yami would join the countless other people that tried to hurt him, tried to convict him for the crimes that he had committed so long ago. He did not want Yami to be apart of that.

"Nothing…" Yugi and Yami held gazes. It was like Yami's crimson eyes were searching for the truth hidden behind Yugi's own amethyst orbs. Yugi felt himself shiver under the teen's gaze. Why… why could his eyes do this to him? He felt so naked in front of him, like he was being exposed bit by bit.

He knew Yami didn't believe him. The look he had gave it away, but he didn't want him to know. He didn't want to expose him to the darkness that lingers in his heart.

"Yugi… she made you shake. In _fear. _And you expect me to believe there's nothing between you?" Yugi didn't respond to that. He just couldn't. Yami sighed, running a hand through his hair. He sat next to the small teen and ruffled his hair. "You don't have to tell me now, but I would really like to know what I'm protecting you from."

'Protecting… he's… protecting me?'

Yami brought the teen closer to him, enjoying how the little one fit so well in his arms. He hadn't expected to move this fast in their relationship. True, the moment he saw the teen he was head over heels in love. The boy's amethyst eyes had drawn him in the minute they made eye contact. His body also, intrigued Yami as well. The small petite body that looked so fragile yet so strong at the same time. Even the hair, that was so similar to Yami's own. The only difference being the amount of blonde streaks the teen's had in their hair.

Yugi felt a brush creep on his face. He didn't know why, but he felt so warm; so safe. He didn't feel any malice or sexual urges from his body. Only warmth. Yugi felt himself sigh in content. The two had only just met but, it felt like they have something deeper than neither could possibly imagine. It was like they were somehow made for each other.

"You would really… protect me?" Yugi couldn't help but blush. This was all a new feeling to him.

"Of course Yugi. I always protect what's precious to me."

"I'm… precious?"

_My little one, you are precious to Mama. I'll protect you always._

The words ran through Yugi's head, over and over again. It wouldn't stop, it just kept on playing. Reminding him of memories he thought he had forgotten.

Yami smiled, "Yes Yugi. You are very precious to me."

"But… we just… met… I can't be…"

"True we just met but. I don't know Yugi, I'm being consumed by this feeling right now. And the feeling's telling me that you're special to me."

Yugi blushed. He really was lost for words. Yami, along with Jou, were one of the only people in this world that treated him like a human being. That actually thought he was worth something, just like his mom…

"I feel something too… but I don't know what it is." Yugi could feel his eyes starting to feel heavy. The warmth was adding on to his tiredness.

Yami ran his hand through Yugi's hair a couple of times, "You look tired. Why not sleep? I'll make sure to tell your teachers that you need rest."

"Will you come back?" Yugi sounded pretty eager, noticing this he blushed.

Yami chuckled as he made his way to the door, "I'll be back, I promise." then walked away.

* * *

That Anzu! Such a... -insert word here- :D

Yami: What exactly did she do?

Me: You'll find out later... ;)

Yami: Should I be scared?

Me:... Depends on how you look at it ^^ Anyway, I'm planning on realeasing my next story in a couple more weeks :) so look out for that. Also try reading my other stories, feedbacks always good :D

Lurveeeee you all and don't forget to review :D


	4. Chapter 4

Fallen's Little Corner :D (Haven't put that up in a while...)

I was feeling bored so I decided to update Save The Innocent a little earlier :)

Yami: That's expectantly nice of you.

Me: It's like you expect me to be mean :S

Yami: Not necassarily...

Me: Just shush Yami and let the readers read :)

Read, REVIEW, enjoy please :)

* * *

As Yugi slept, he dreamed, and as dreamed… he screamed. Memories of that dreaded night swirled through his mind. However, the memories of that night that plagued Yugi's mind wasn't just simple memories. They were memories of his second sin.

The images were so fresh, so real, that it felt like it only happened yesterday. But of course, this terrible sin had not occurred yesterday, it had happened many years ago.

But… that story can not be told yet…

Yugi awoke in a cold sweat with tears running down his face. He was gripping onto the sheets so hard, his knuckles turned white. The tri-colored hair teen was beginning to hyperventilate. If he didn't stop soon… he didn't even want to think about it. Taking long deep breaths he tried to control his breathing.

He felt a strong warm hand grip his own small and delicate one and immediately felt a rush of comfort and ease.

A pair of crimson eyes gazed intently into Yugi's own amethyst ones. Those crimson orbs were filled with concern for the little one. "Is something wrong?" he wiped some stray tears off of Yugi's face, "You're crying."

Yugi let out a shaky breath, "Yeah… I'm fine. It was just a nightmare."

"Must have been quite the nightmare. You were screaming: 'Forgive me! Forgive me please!'" Yugi cringed. He hadn't realized he'd actually been talking in his sleep. "Then you were trashing around so much you were about to fall, so I held onto you. After that you finally calmed down."

Yugi, finally aware of the fact that he was in Yami's arms, blushed furiously. He felt his body tremble as fear rose up inside of him, "Y-You won't hurt me… if I stay in your arms… will you?"

Yami's was highly bewildered. Why would Yugi think that after all that had happened he would hurt him? Didn't he trust him? It was like Yugi thought Yami was only being nice to him, just so he could get something out of it later. But that wasn't true, that was far from the truth.

"Why would I hurt you Yugi? I have no reason to, besides… I couldn't even hurt you if I tried Yugi." Yugi felt his body lessen up in tension as relief swept through him, "If it's uncomfortable for me to hold you I can let go."

Yami was just about to unwrap his arms from Yugi when he felt the little teen shake his head, "No, it's not uncomfortable at all."

"That's good to hear." he smiled as he ruffled Yugi's tri-colored hair. Yugi couldn't help but giggle, "You know, you've been sleeping all day Yugi."

At the mention of this Yugi sat up lightning fast, "You're kidding me! What time is it then!" Yugi looked left and right. Searching frantically for a clock of some sort to tell him the time.

Yami felt his confusion come back again, "Well… from the last time I checked it was pretty close to being three o'clock. Why? Is there somewhere you have to go?"

Yugi however, was too caught up in finding his things to go home. He was mumbling under his breath, cursing at himself for being too careless. Using words he never would have on a regular basis. "Shit… I'm late… so late… he's going to freaking kill me…"

Yami could pick up what he was saying, bits and pieces, but enough to realize that Yugi was definitely panicking. "Yugi, calm down. No one's going to kill you I'm pretty sure of it." Yugi ignored him and kept on mumbling. Pacing around the room and cursing that he couldn't find his backpack. The little teen was trembling in both anger and fear. Yami put two hands on Yugi's shoulder and spun the teen around, taken aback by the expression on Yugi's face.

New tears were streaming down his pale angelic face. And his eyes showed pure terror. "Yami-kun… l-let g-go." he struggled to shake Yami off but he was just too weak, "Y-You have t-to let me go… you don't understand…"

"Then help me so that I do understand." Yami's voice was both serious and pleading.

Yugi was caught, he didn't know what to do. Confess and let his secrets become expose? Risking the fact that after telling him, Yami will convict him like the rest. Or risk the chance of losing someone he felt some closure too all because of his fear of what would come if he didn't return home.

Yugi settled for somewhere in between, "My father…" he began to say in a small whisper, "he'll be angry if I don't get home soon."

Yami's hand's fell to his sides, but his tone was still the same. "You were that frantic over something like that Yugi?" the small teen nodded. Yami couldn't help but chuckle, "You're so worrisome but, I guess that's what makes you cute." Yugi blushed more than he did before and Yami chuckled again, "If you're looking for your back pack it's in my car."

Yugi looked up confused, "Why is it in your car Yami-kun?" his suspicion and paranoia was growing. Had Yami intended to lead him into fake closure, to steal his most prized possession that was currently resting in his book bag? If he did… he would have looked through it… examine it bit by bit… then use that as evidence that Yugi was in fact a sin in human flesh. That the images he drew portrayed the images of all the tragedies that occurred because of Yugi.

Yami smirked and Yugi felt his blood turn cold, "It's in my car because I was going to use it as an excuse to take you home." he said with a wink. Yugi's blood changed from cold to hot as the color rushed to his cheeks. Yet again, he had let his paranoia and fear take over his judgment… like a coward.

Yami reached in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. On the keychain there was a small version of a gaming card. Yugi was fascinated by it, yet he had no idea what it was. Yami threw the key in the air and caught it expertly. "If we keep standing here we'll be more late. Let's go." he made his way to the door when he felt a hand grab his arm.

"No… don't take me home. I can walk back."

Yami could feel the heat radiating from Yugi's touch. He felt a warm heat rush to his tanned face. "Yugi, what type of friend would I be if I let you walk alone on the streets of Domino? I'm driving you home and that's final." He walked out the doorway but stopped when he noticed Yugi wasn't following. Yami sighed, then smirked devilishly, "Yugi… if you don't move I'm carrying you out."

Before Yugi could react he felt arms wrap around him. Sure enough, Yami was carrying him bridal style out the door of the nurse's office and down the hallway. Yami laughed, it was such a deep and rich laugh, at how cute Yugi's reaction was. From the hallway all the way out to the parking lot Yugi couldn't stop blushing… or smiling. For the first time, being in someone's arms didn't mean being raped.

+When I'm being held by you… it makes me feel like there is such a thing as love.+

"Y-Yami-kun don't y-you think you're driving a little to fast?" Yugi was currently holding onto his seatbelt for dear life.

Yami laughed, "Well we have to get you home soon right?" Yugi nodded the best he could, "Then what's the harm of putting the pedal to the metal?" he stepped on the accelerator some more and Yugi shrieked. He didn't find it all too fun going 60 mph on 40 mph speed limit.

"Could we at least slow down a little Yami-kun? We don't have to get there that fast."

"We do if we don't want your dad to get angry." they stopped at a red light. Even then Yami was raring to go, press the accelerator, and zoom off. "So where do you live Yugi? Forgot to ask you when we were getting into the car."

"Not to far from here…" the light turned green, "Take a left here." Yami eased his car to the right and drove slowly, just to make sure he wouldn't miss Yugi's house. "Are you sure you live around here?" Yami raised an eyebrow. The place they were driving through had streets filled with shops of different varieties. Some were clothing stores, others were bookstores, but the one place that stuck out was the game shop.

"Yeah I'm sure. Stop here…" Yugi pointed to the small game shop. Yami eased the car to a stop and turned off the ignition.

"This is where you live Yugi?" Yugi silently nodded. Yami had no idea if this really was where Yugi lived, or if it was just a place where Yugi could ditch Yami without having to tell him anything. Yami felt himself deflate at the thought.

Yugi gazed up at the game shop and caught sight of a dark figure peering behind the curtain. Yugi's pulse accelerated in fear. It was his father… and he was home. Just as Yugi feared. Yugi's father closed the curtain, but that still didn't help to settle the teen's anxiety.

"Yugi you're face is pale. Is something wrong?" Yami reached out a hand to touch Yugi's face but the smaller teen quickly dodged it. "Yu-"

"I got to go, bye Yami-kun." Yugi said hastily. He slammed the car door behind him, then ran up to his front door and slammed that too. Yami couldn't believe what happened and slumped into his car seat.

"No, 'Thank you for the ride.' Or, 'Yami-kun, drive me home more often. I want to get closer to you.'" He sighed and put his arms behind his head, "I thought we were getting closer… considering what had happened." he folded placed his arms on the top of the steering wheel, then laid his head on top of them. "Maybe… it was all my imagination." his arms brushed against the wheel, causing the horn to go off. Yami nearly jumped out of his seat, before laughing out loud. "That must have been my wake up call. Come on Yami since when have you ever giving up?" he gazed up towards the game shop one more time, "Yugi, be prepared to be swooned." then he drove off. Just in time, because when he rounded the corner. A scream could be heard from the game shop.

+I must remember, that the people I'm close too end up dead.+

"Yugi, where were you?" his father nibbled on the tip of Yugi's ear. "Papa's missed you so much."

"S-Sorry F-Father." Yugi was trembling, hard. But not because the ear nibbling felt good. Oh no, the ear nibbling sent cold shocks throughout his small frame. And the fear that he was about to get violated became even stronger by the second.

"Yugi, don't call me that. Call me Papa." he whispered into his ear, then trailed kisses down Yugi's neck.

"Pa-AH!" Yugi shrieked as he felt his father dig his teeth into his pale neck. A fresh stream of blood flowed from the abused flesh. Yugi winced, but held in his tears. His father laughed in his drunken state.

"Yugi," he breathed into his neck. Yugi felt utterly repulsed by the hot breath mixed with the smell of the alcohol. It was giving him a headache. "I love it when you scream my name." he licked some more blood, "It's such a turn on."

Yugi could feel the bulge of his father's erection becoming bigger, making him feel even more repulsed. He could feel his father moving his hips upward to make Yugi feel it more. He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat, 'Yugi… you have to deal with it… your punishment isn't over yet.'

The small teen yelped again when he felt a cold hand slide into his pants and grope his member. "Are you turned on too Yugi?" his father started to move his hand slowly along Yugi's shaft. No matter how much he didn't want to, Yugi couldn't help but bite back a moan. He always knew his body was sensitive, so did his father. "Why don't we help each other out hmm?"

"N-No…" Yugi struggled to break free, despite convincing himself that he had to go through with it. His body wouldn't readily listen. It wanted Yugi to break away, to run from his punishment. Even if that meant being looked down upon.

The more Yugi struggled, the tighter the grip his father had on him became. "Yugi," Kyouske was becoming irritated by his son's lack of willing. "don't back talk to your Papa like that, or else you know what happens." his grip on Yugi's member tightened and Yugi couldn't hold in the one stray tear that fell from his face. "Now be a good little boy and let Papa jerk you off."

Yugi was utterly powerless. He knew that, when his father was in this state, he'd do anything just to get off. He'd break any bone in Yugi's body just to have him bend to his will. However, even in this terrible situation, this was one of his father's better days. Especially compared to others nights when Yugi was raped countless times. Compared to those nights, his father was being a docile creature.

The grip lessened as his father began to stroke him up and down. Stopping at the top to draw light circles on the head. Yugi bit his lip hard, causing more blood to flow from his small, pale lips. His father's eyes looked deranged and full of lust as he turned Yugi's face to meet his.

"Kiss me." he commanded. Yugi slowly leaned forward and placed a feeble kiss on his father's lips. "Yugi you can do much better than that." he kissed his son's cheek sloppily, "You're becoming boring… bring him out."

"B-Bring who out? Papa?" Yugi's confusion was mixing in with his tears. He didn't have any clue what his father was talking about. In the farthest corners of Yugi's mind he felt something tugging at his consciousness.

**Yugi, let me come out. I'll handle him.**

Yugi fell into the black abyss that was tugging at him greedily. His amethyst eyes closed, then reopened to reveal pale ones. His father smirked, "Finally the slut's out." the empty vessel said nothing. "Now then Slut, give me a kiss that will blow me senseless."

The "Slut" licked Kyouske's dry, lips before plunging its tongue inside his mouth. Their tongues battled for dominance. But the drunken father would not give up, instead he held onto the empty's tongue and bit it hard.

The "Slut" moaned, and Kyouske greedily lapped at the blood mixed with the saliva that was entering his mouth.

"For a slut, you taste amazing." he placed the vessel onto the floor and without any command the vessel assumed doggy position. "And for a slut," he began to say as he eased himself into the vessel's entrance, you're pretty hot."

The empty vessel let out quiet moans, but as the thrusting became harder, the moans became louder.

**As long as Yugi doesn't have to go through with this… it's fine. **

Kyouske grabbed onto the "Slut's" member and began to stroke it as fast as he was thrusting. "Shit… you're so tight. Papa loves it…" he climaxed into the "Slut" for the fifth time before pulling out. The "Slut" laid motionless, as the slight bit of consciousness that Yugi had left prayed that his father would be satisfied and leave. Sadly… Kyouske was not done with him yet.

"Don't just lie there Slut." he grabbed the vessel by the arm and yanked it upstairs. "Papa's has to get you cleaned off.I'll make sure to clean every inch of your body."

The "Slut" willingly obeyed and allowed his father to drag him up the stairs for another round of painful rape.


	5. Chapter 5

Ello Lurvleys :D Another installment of Save the Innocent.

Jou: BANZAI!

Yami: But what about your other stories Fallen?

Me: Wellll~ I'm kinddda favoring this story a little more, especially since I'm working on it's latest chapter. I've been so lazy I haven't really been able to type *_*.

Kaiba: Don't use laziness as an excuse.

Me: Oh shush Kaiba. Anyway, I think the next chapter of Shattered will be out next week, if not the week before. I'm hoping to at least release some new chapters before I go off to Chicago.

Yugi: :O Fallen you never told us you were going to Chicago.

Me: You never asked guys :P haha anyway, enjoy chapter 5 of Save the Innocent :). Lovin all the feedback I'm getting ^^.

Read, Review, and don't forget to **enjoy. **

* * *

+You invaded my dreams, and because of that I couldn't sleep.+

Yami laid awake in bed, his thoughts racing in all sorts of directions.

'I feel like… there's something more to Yugi than he's leading on.' he thought, 'And at the same time, it's like… he's putting up a wall between us. A wall that maybe I myself can't even climb.' he turned to his side, 'I don't even know why I'm so caught up with him. I only just met him and yet… I can't get him out of my mind.' Yami sat up on the bed, "Is this what they call… love?"

+The same night.+

"Slut… you're so tight… even after the seventh round." After leading Yugi upstairs, Kyouske had dressed him up in a S & M outfit, then placed chains on the wall that tied him down to the bed. In his drunken state, Kyouske thought it would be such a turn on to see little Yugi, shivering and whimpering, and crying out in pain as drips of blood trailed down his petite body.

Kyouske, loved the feeling of violating Yugi… because it reminded him so much of his wife. A long time ago, he had done the very same thing to his wife. The only difference was… the wife enjoyed it.

Yugi let out more and more screams as his father continued to rape him. Somewhere along the line, he slipped back into consciousness. Meaning, that he could feel every ounce of pain that shot through his body every time his father rammed into him.

As Yugi let out one final scream his father climaxed inside of him. Kyouske sloppily pulled out of Yugi, a thin trail of blood following his member. "You're such a great toy to play with." he slurred, "As a reward, you get to sleep here for the night. In your nice comfy chains." Kyouske placed a sloppy kiss on Yugi's already red and swollen lips and stumbled out of the room.

The pain was swallowing him up bit by bit, but Yugi had to deal with it. He told himself that over and over again. 'Because of this pain… I'm getting one step closer towards forgiveness. Mother… I hope you forgive me…' Silent tears fell from his face. Yugi was no fool. He knew that no one, even him, should have to deal with something like this. Not even as payment for his sins. But, what could he do now?

This had been going on for five years now. Each year was somewhat of a surprise that Yugi had somehow survived. 'Do people really have to go through all this… just for redemption…'

Yugi tried to wiggle his hands out of the chains. He hissed as metal rubbed against his already reddened skin. The way his hands were chained and the way he was placed on the bed would make it impossible for him to get out. This rarely ever happened after his father was done with him. 'That last time I was left chained I was locked up in here for four days… I wonder if this time. Will it be longer?'

Yugi sighed, he was completely dirtied. Blood, semen, dirt and sweat covered the bed sheets and Yugi's body. Since he wasn't planning on getting up to take a shower anytime soon he was pretty sure he'd start to smell… badly. All he could do was suck it up and wait, that is… if anyone would find him.

+One week later.+

"Jou!" Yami cried, running over to the blonde and Kaiba who were currently sitting at their table. When Yami got there, he was slightly out of breath, "Have you seen Yugi anywhere? He hasn't been in school for a week."

"One week? Are you sure Yami? Maybe you guys are just in different classes." Jou said.

"No, me and Yugi share most of our classes together. If I didn't see him one period I would have seen him the other period before or after that."

Jou and Kaiba exchanged worried glances.

"You don't think…?" Kaiba began to ask.

"… Oh God…" Jou slammed his fists on the table and quickly stood up. Toppling his food on the ground. "Shit shit shit! Why didn't I see it sooner! Damn it!"

Yami was alarmed, he had no idea why Jou was freaking out, "Jou calm down, no need to scream." he said trying to calm the raging blonde.

"I can't be calm damn it! What type of friend am I realizing something like this too late." he turned to Kaiba, "Kaiba let me borrow your keys." Kaiba dug into is pocket and threw Jou the keys.

"Where exactly are you going Jou?" Yami asked.

"Where else. Yugi's house. If mine and Kaiba's hunches are right… then…" he stopped short. Jou didn't want to reveal too much about Yugi to Yami. Sure, he'd seen Yugi and Yami talk all the time, but he knew Yugi well enough to know that he wouldn't tell anyone he just met, no matter how well they got along, that much about him.

"Then what Jou?" Yugi was getting slightly irritated, once again being out of the loop that involved Yugi.

"Nothing, I'm leaving." Jou said hastily as he turned around and started towards the parking lot.

"Nothing…? Oh no… I'm not accepting 'Nothing' as an answer." Yami hurried after Jou when he felt an hand grab his arm. "Kaiba let me go!" he yelled as he struggled to break free.

Kaiba's grip tightened, "Cousin, listen to me when I say this. You do _not _want to go over to Yugi's house right now." his voice was serious, and his cobalt eyes were boring holes into Yami's crimson ones.

"If something's wrong with Yugi then I want to go and see him! I have to go." he struggled even more gazing back and forth between Kaiba and Jou who was getting farther and farther away.

Kaiba sighed, 'So troublesome.' He let go of Yami's arm, which Yami was very grateful for. "Obviously, I'm not enough force of reason to stop you. But it's your fault if you don't heed my warning. If you go over there… never mind. Forget I ever said anything. Let the ignorant be bliss I suppose." Kaiba sat down at the bench once again and began typing on his laptop.

Yami stared at Kaiba, urging him to go on. "Kai-"

"Jou's probably getting in the car right now. You might want to hurry." Kaiba completely shut out Yami, his focus tuned onto his laptop.

Yami took off at lightning speed, dodging students and teachers trying to reach the parking lot. Jou was already strapped into the car and ready to drive out the school. Yami jumped in front of the car and Jou cursed, slamming on the breaks.

"Yami! I don't have time to deal with you right now! Get out of my fucking way or get run over."

"No Jou, either take me with you, or deal with a lawsuit for killing me."

Jou cursed again and slammed his hand into the steering wheel, "Fuck." he whispered, "Fine get in." he said in monotone.

Yami silently cheered and hopped into the car. He barely had anytime to strap himself in when Jou pressed the accelerator and zoomed off. The speed at which Jou was going was twice as fast as Yami drove on a regular basis.

"Jou, what's wrong with Yugi?" Yami asked. For the past couple of minutes there had been complete silence. Jou's whole focus was on the road, trying his best to reach to Yugi in time.

Jou stared straight on ahead, not even bothering to answer Yami's question.

"Jou answer me-"

"-Just shut up right now Yami. You're not even supposed to be in this car." Jou was getting irritated by the second. They had just approached a stop light, only a few blocks away from Yugi's house, but it still wouldn't change. With Yami being in the same car as Jou, when he wasn't even supposed to be there, was adding on to his stress. "Damn it! I'm just about to walk if this thing doesn't change."

Right on time, the light changed from red to green. Jou made a hard and swift left around the corner. Ignoring the speeding limit, he zoomed down the road at lightning speed, determination and adrenaline driving him on.

Yami was gripping onto the seatbelt for dear life. Praying that Jou would slow down, or at least tell Yami why he was being so secretive about what was going on with Yugi. 'Something has to be wrong with Yugi, or else Jou wouldn't be acting like the end of the world was coming. The question is… what is that something?'

The car screeched to a halt as Jou carelessly parked the car in front of the game shop. Quickly and expertly Jou jumped out of the car and ran to the door, a concerned Yami right on his tail.

"Go back to the car Yami, this has nothing to do with you." Jou was pulling up the welcome mat as if he was searching for something, "Shit it's not here."

"What's not here?" Yami raised an eyebrow, "Jou, what are you looking for?"

Jou threw the mat somewhere, then turned to Yami and sighed, "Even if I don't tell you… you're not going to leave are you?" Yami shook his head. Somehow, Jou found a reason to smile in this situation, "Well… I'm looking for a key."

"A key?" Jou nodded and went around the back.

"If it's not here, then the key's probably hidden somewhere in the backyard."

"Jou I know I've been asking a lot of questions but-"

"- No really?" Jou asked sarcastically as he walked to the backyard Yami right behind him.

Yami ignored the sarcasm, "_But_," he continued, "has this happened before? Is that why you're so… on edge?"

Jou stopped in his tracks then turned around to face Yami, "Yami, I just can't answer all your damn questions right now." his voice was strained, as Jou did his best to keep his voice under control, "We're wasting too much time, just help me find the key so I can get into the house alright? Then I'll _try_ answer all your questions."

"Will you really?"

Jou nodded and continued to look for the key. With a little more hope, Yami began searching too. He lifted up a small flower pot on the porch and smiled.

"Jou I found it!"

Jou ran up to Yami and grabbed the key out of his hand. "Finally!" he ran up to the back door and slid the key into the hole. The door opened with a faint click and Jou ran inside, Yami right behind him once again.

The house itself looked normal enough. It had the furniture here and there around the living room. And the paint on the walls looked dulled but probably from age. Yami wouldn't think that anything sinister was going on in this house, except for the fact that broken beer bottles were scattered along the floor. 'Alcohol… not a good sign.' Yami thought.

"Okay, let's get in, find Yugi then get out." Jou said as he rushed up the stairs.

"Jou we can't just search the house, Yugi's parents-"

"-Yugi's _parent,_" Jou corrected, "Wouldn't care if the freaking Japanese Army ransacked his house. We'll be fine." he opened up one of the rooms upstairs, "Damn it, he's not in there." he opened up a second door, still no Yugi. "Yugi where are you!"

Yami could feel himself getting more and more nervous. Neither him, nor Jou had any idea where Yugi was in the house. There was even the possibility that he wasn't in the house to begin with. 'Yugi… I know you're here… but where are you…?' As he walked past a door, he heard a faint noise and stopped. He could feel a presence inside. It was faint, but it was still there. Something inside of him was telling Yami that inside Yugi was being held.

"Jou in here!" Yami cried as he quickly opened the door. What he saw on the inside made his blood run cold. Yugi was limp on the bed with blood and dirt all over him. His hair was all messed up and he was chained against the bed frame. His hands were pinned above him making it incapable for him to get out. Yami never saw anything like this before in his whole life, he was frozen in shock.

"Shit…" Jou cursed silently, "Yami don't fucking stand there! Get in there now!" he pushed Yami in causing the teen to stumbled. Yami mentally slapped himself for being so shocked. 'Instead of standing there I should have ran right inside… I'm such an idiot. But I can't stand here scolding myself, I got to help Yugi.'

Yami ran up to the bedside and gently knelt beside Yugi. It looked like the boy hadn't eaten in days, how could he when he was chained to a bed? His complexion was even paler than usual and his face looked like he was in so much pain. "Yugi…" he whispered as he gently cupped his face.

Yugi whimpered, which turned into a horrible scream. "No! Don't! I'm sorry please! Mama! Mama don't go! Mama!" tears ran down the small ones face as he began to trash about on the bed. The metal chains were jingling as they made fresh new marks on Yugi's frail arms.

Yami turned to Jou, who had the same expression of distraught on his face. "Jou, you find something to cut the chains with. I'll stay here and do my best to calm him down."

Jou stared at Yami for what seemed like an eternity. Here he was, staring at a stranger who was now offering to help out his childhood friend. A stranger, who somehow had worked his way into Yugi's affairs, without even knowing the consequences, or having the slightest bit of an idea of what truly was going on. Slowly, Jou nodded and walked out of the room in search for an item to cut off the chains.

Yugi was still trashing about on the bed, trapped in his endless nightmares. Yami didn't know how to stop it, but the look Yugi was showing was filled with so much pain that he felt the urge to hug the small teen become unbearable.

As gently as he could, Yami took the small boy into his arms and held him so close he thought if he held Yugi any tighter he might break something. He was careful not to get Yugi anymore bruises from the chains, so he chose the best position to be was sitting on the bed, while Yugi was on his lap. He rubbed Yugi's head gently and calmly as he whispered sweet nothings into Yugi's ears.

"Yugi, you don't have to be afraid. Yami's here." he said in a low whisper. Yugi's screams and cries calmed down to inaudible whimpers. Yami began to rock the teen back and forth gently, "Shh… it's okay. It's all going to be okay."

Yugi unconsciously clung onto the fabric of Yami's shirt. Grasping so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Jou finally returned into the room with a small saw in his hand.

"I went into to the tool shed out back and found this." he slightly faltered as he stared at the two. Yugi was calmly asleep in Yami's embrace as the taller one continued to whisper sweet words into Yugi's ears. '… I think my whole view on this guy is changing.' he thought. "Yami, hold Yugi still. I'm going to cut off the chains."

Yami did as he was told as Jou began to saw his way through the metal chains. "Can't you go a little faster Jou?"

"I'm trying here Yami! Do you have any idea how tough it is to saw through metal chains?" the metal chain broke apart, freeing Yugi from the wall, "Yes!" Jou silently cheered. He fluffed Yugi's hair a little, "Don't worry buddy, I'm getting you out of here." he turned to Yami, "Ya-"

"-I already know what you're going to say. I'll find some spare clothes and bring them to the car. You go and return the saw back to the shed." The two went off into separate directions. Yami searched the upstairs looking for Yugi's room. When he found it, he walked in and wasn't as surprised as he thought he would be when he saw the size of the room. 'It's so small… how could anyone live like this?' he stared down at Yugi's face. The small one's face was so angelic at the moment, that Yami's heart skipped a beat, 'How could anyone like _Yugi _live like this?'

He rummaged throw whatever he could find through Yugi's drawers. The clothes in the drawers were way too dirtied and tattered to be even worn. Yami's heart went out to the little one, he had no idea what Yugi was going through… but whatever it was Yugi certainly did not deserve it. He quickly grabbed the blanket that was sprawled upon the bed and wrapped it around Yugi along with grabbing some spare clothes. The teen pulled in closer to Yami, clutching even tighter onto his shirt.

"Don't worry Yugi, I'm not letting you go." he whispered as he walked out the room, closing the door behind him. He heard the sound of hurried footsteps from downstairs and caught Jou frantically running around the house, "Jou what are you doing? Why aren't you at the car?"

"I'm not at the car cause I'm looking for yah! His dad could to be home any minute, we have to go now!" Jou screamed running full speed out the door.

Yami shifted Yugi into a better position, "This may be a little bit uncomfortable but please bear with it." he hurried down the stairs two steps at a time, skipping the last two steps. He made sure that Yugi was being held onto tight enough so he wouldn't feel anything.

Without looking where he was going, he ran into the dining table. "Shit." he cringed a little at the slight pain, but was more concerned about Yugi. He checked the small teen, but it didn't look like he felt anything. Hoisting Yugi up a little more, he ran for the front door and kicked it open. Jou was already out front, in the car rearing to go.

"Hurry up Yami!"

Yami jumped off the front porch and bolted for the car door. Jou opened the door for him and Yami flew in. Holding Yugi so tightly, he was beginning to think that if all the running wasn't hurting Yugi, then how tight he was holding him was. "Jou what about the shop door?"

"It doesn't matter let's go!" he revved up the engines and zoomed off into the distance. As Jou's car rounded the corner, Kyouske's car came up in front of the game shop. He got out of the car and straightened his tie as he walked towards the door. He stopped when he noticed that the door was wide opened, and that bottles of some sort were scattered all over his floor.

"What in the world…?"

* * *

Phewww lots of excitement in this chapter XP.

Yami: Sureeee...

Me: Yami shush! Anyway, I made a livejournal account and I decided that will be the place where I post random one shots that pop into my head. (Don't ask me why I won't post them here I honestly have no answer for that one -.-) Anyway so far I have one up there, but that's only because I have so many new ideas for stories I'm trying to buckle down and work on some long forgotten ones stored in my computer still... o.o. ANYWHO! If you want to check it out my livejournal is: _.com_. It's a parody of Yu-Gi-Oh because I've been watching too much Yugioh Abridged XP

Jou: THIRD TIME WATCHING!

Me: What can I say, I love LK's work :D hahahaha. Okay enough about me, I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 5 of STI. And hopefully I'll get to update again in two weeks time... who knows XP.


	6. Chapter 6

Woot chapter 6! for all you people out there who wanted it.. here it is! Now before you read, i think this will be the last thing i update before i head off for Chicago. Which i'll be there for like.. two weeks, so yeah you won't be getting any updates until then!

Also ANOTHER thing

Yami: Really Fallen really?

Me: Yes, after a review i got, i tried to input a hospital scene into this chapter but it didnt work out well... so a hospital scene will come in later.

and ONE MORE thing.

Yami: FALLEN!

Me: Sorry sorry i just have to say this one last thing. Bc my live journal URL got freaking messed up D: here it is again xolunaox (dot) livejournal (dot) com. Ta daaaaa :D. Check out for oneshot(s) . Anyway heres chapter 6. Have fun

Read, Review, ENJOY XD.

* * *

Kyouske examined the damage of his house. On the floor was scattered beer bottles, some were split in half while others were still in tact. Some were empty, while some were still capped and, their contents untouched yet by human hands. Around the living room there were random articles of clothing scattered around the floor.

Kyouske was completely baffled, when he checked the store for attempts of a break-in, but when checked for any signs of damage, everything was left unharmed. But, when he checked up stairs, the house was a wreck. Beer bottles sprawled all over the living room, and when he checked upstairs there were metal chains that were cut on half left on the bed. He had no idea where these items came from.

He slumped onto the couch, feeling exhausted from all the stress that was brought upon him. He loosened his tie, and let out a sigh. 'Who would have done this?' he thought, 'Well… at least I live alone, so this isn't too much of a problem.' he gazed over at the beer bottles thrown on the floor, 'As long as that little kid… what was his name? Yugi, as long as he's okay then that's fine too.'

Kyouske got up from the couch slowly, and began to clean up the scattered items, his mind too far off to ever remember he had a son, a son he used to violate for his own enjoyment.

+Innocent: I have a feeling, that something is not right+

"Jou, where exactly are you taking us?" Jou was still driving, hard and fast to some unknown destination. They had been driving like that for the past half-hour, luckily though, Yugi hadn't waken up and was still clutching onto Yami just as Yami was holding on to Yugi, begging that someone wouldn't take Yugi from him.

"We're going to the one place Yugi's father won't come to." Jou replied, turning to the right.

"And that place would be…?"

Jou smirked, "Well none other than Kaiba's house of course."

"Well then you should have told me that earlier." he let out a sigh, "Of course it's in times like these when I have to rely on my cousin."

Jou's smirked widened, "True, but he does have his useful moments. Yah know, being president of Kaiba Corp and all." he turned up the driveway of Kaiba's mansion, without even checking in with the guards, the front gate opened allowing easy access. Jou slowly drove up the hill and parked in front of the huge Kaiba estate. Both teens got out of the car with Yami still holding onto to Yugi protectively. The two entered the giant house which started out with the living room. Kaiba was already there, his little brother Mokuba by his side. Kaiba had a look of unease on his face, while Mokuba was trying his best to ease his brother's tension.

"Kaiba! We found Yugi." Jou called out. At the sound of Yugi's name, Kaiba stood up abruptly and rushed over to the three. When he saw Yugi's sleeping face, he let out a sigh of relief and gave a small smile, something he rarely ever did.

"So were our suspicions correct? Was he really…?"

Jou nodded and gave a sad look towards Yugi, Yami gazed down towards Yugi as well. He gently caressed the sleeping's teens face. 'What exactly is Yugi going through? How can anyone who looks so… innocent have such dark secrets inside of them?' Yami thought. He found himself bringing Yugi even closer to his chest, burying his face into those tri-colored locks. "Yugi," he whispered, "Whatever hell you've been through… I'll make sure to save you from it."

"Onii-chan," Mokuba pulled on the sleeve of Kaiba's shirt, "What's wrong with Yugi?"

Kaiba ruffled his brother's long black hair, "Nothing Mokuba, he's just not feeling well as all, he'll be fine after some rest. Now go upstairs and start on your homework."

Mokuba pouted, "But Onii-chan-"

"No buts Mokuba, go upstairs now. I'll come up to check on you later." his voice was stern and at the same time calm as Mokuba reluctantly walked upstairs. When he was out of earshot Kaiba turned to face Jou and Yami. "I can't believe this happened again." his voice was strained, he began to rub his temples in a circular motion.

"I keep hearing you guys talking about this, has this happened before?" Yami's crimson eyes locked with Kaiba's cobalt ones. The two glared at each other for awhile, Yami doing his best to break his cousin icy defenses.

Jou looked left and right between Yami and Kaiba, feeling utterly helpless in what to do. Instead he sighed and straightened himself, determined to at least keep whatever hostile emotions that were about to appear at bay. "Kaiba, maybe we should just tell him." Kaiba looked over at Jou as if he was crazy. Jou shrugged and continued, "I mean, I've already seen what he's willing to do for Yugi, and you're his cousin, so we should be able to at least tell him right?"

Kaiba glazed over towards Yami again, he could see the nervousness in Yami's stance. His muscles were tense, as his arms clutched onto Yugi's frail, unmoving body. He could see the intakes of breathe Yami was taking as his chest rose and fell. Kaiba sighed once again, before resting on the arm of the couch, one leg crossed over the other, "Jou it's not our place to tell." he looked over one last time at Yugi, "The only person who can tell him is Yugi himself."

"But you know Yug as well as I do that he'll never let anyone he cares about get involved with… 'that'" Jou but air quotes around that.

"You're right about that, but Yugi can sense a good heart a mile away Jou," then Kaiba turned to Yami, "if you can wait long enough, you'll find out."

"I'll wait forever, if that's how long it takes for me to know about Yugi." Yami could feel the little one stirring beneath him, he gazed down below and could see tears running down Yugi's face.

"Mama…" Yugi whimpered as the tears ran down his face more and more.

Yami started to slowly rock Yugi back and forth hoping the moving sensation would calm him down, "Shh… Yugi don't cry, there's no reason to cry. Go back to sleep."

Both Jou and Kaiba had faces full of shock when Yugi actually calmed down. Yami however was too involved in rocking Yugi to notice.

Jou smirked, "Well then… I don't know about you Kaiba but I think I just met my new best friend."

Kaiba smirked as well, "And I just found out that my cousin isn't as sexually obsessed as I thought he was."

"Thanks Kaiba." Yami remarked dryly. "Enough about me though, what exactly are we going to do with Yugi?"

"Well Obviously he's staying here Yami." Kaiba replied. Turning to Jou he said, "And you're staying here too."

"Wasn't planning on sleeping anywhere else tonight Kaiba." Jou grinned.

"Now that that's out of the way, Yugi needs to be cleaned off." Yami's eyes never left Yugi's angelic face, "I'd hate to wake him up when he's showing such a cute face, but it's for his own good." he began to walk upstairs, "I'll come down later when I'm done with Yugi."

+Innocent: The dreams I have once forgotten, are plaguing me again.+

+Yugi's POV.+

_It was the first day of spring, the first time I was going to meet Mama's new husband. Mama said it was important that I was on my best behavior today, she said if I was she'd take me out for ice cream afterwards. I cheered and kissed Mama on the cheek, I had to stand on my tippy toes though but Mama wasn't too tall, so it was okay. She smiled at me and giggled, I really loved hearing my Mama laugh. _

_We were outside my new daddy's house, and I felt the butterflies in my stomach. I looked up to Mama and asked, _

"_Mama?"_

"_Yes Dear?"_

"_What if new daddy doesn't like me?" I squeezed onto Mama's hand tightly waiting for my answer._

_She only smiled at me, and gently rubbed the back of my hand with her finger, "Your new father could never hate you Yugi, he told me he was really excited about meeting you."_

"_Really?" I bounced up and down on my feet._

_Mama laughed and placed a kiss on my forehead, "Really." she said with a smile, "Now let's go in, Daddy's waiting for us." _

_Mama opened the door, at first there was a bright white light, I had to cover my eyes because I thought I was going to get blinded. Then the white light faded, and my new daddy was standing right in front of me. He was tall… even taller than Mama, and he had black hair that reached his shoulders. He knelt down on the ground, with his arms opened really wide. _

_He called my name: Yugi, and told me to come over to him. _

_I looked up at Mama, and she nodded telling me it was okay. I ran up to the arms of my new father. He embraced me, and for some weird reason… he was cold. He pushed me gently so he could get a better look at me, "You're so cute Yugi." he said with a smile. I felt my cheeks get hot, and he laughed saying I looked even more cuter than before. Then he told me, that from now on he'd be apart of this family and hopefully I'd think of him as a real father too. _

_At the time… I was naïve. _

_At the time… I let my childish ignorance get the better of me._

_At the time… the cold numbed me raw._

_Now the images were flickering faster and faster, like a burnt out movie strip. The pictures reeled on and on, some depicting the past, others the present, and some… were just images I knew weren't real, but they were so scary, they could have been real. _

_I want to run, but I can't. Someone's holding me down, and he's too strong for me to break through. He's touching me… in places that… I don't want him to touch. He's violating me with his own hands, with his words, with his every being, my whole identity is being ripped away. _

"_It's your fault!" he's screaming at me, I don't know why though. "You're the reason why I'm like this! If you weren't born, no… if you weren't brought into this family! My wife… would still be here!"_

_The scene flipped to another screen, it was a girl this time. With brown hair put into two pigtails, and really bright blue eyes. She was biting her lip, and tears were running down her face. She was crying so hard, she was shaking. _

"_Why… Why did you have to kill him?" then she got taller more older, and her bright blue eyes turned into dark cold ones, "You just can't stand it when I have something that you don't! So you have to take away every single thing I own! YUGI I HOPE YOU DIE!" _

_The scene changed one more time and this time… it was a woman. She was covered and blood and her eyes were soulless, she was staring at me but it was like she wasn't really looking at me. She opened her mouth, and blood dribbled down her cheek. I fought the impulse to throw up…_

"_Yu-Yu… why did you do this to me? Don't you love Mama…?"_

"_Mama…" I didn't actually say the words, but my mouth moved, forming the word almost effortlessly. Mama… why isn't she here…?_

"_I'm not here, because you killed me Yugi. With your own hands."_

"_With my… own hands?" I stared down at my hands and they were stained with blood. I started to shake uncontrollably. Violently. The person that was holding me disappeared, and now I was on the floor crying, because I was now aware of the deed I had just done. How many people… have I killed with my bear hands?_

_How many more will I kill?_

_Why didn't I just die….?_

**Oh Yugi, how many times do I have to tell you: It's. not. You're. fault. **

_I blinked, once, twice, three times. Who said that? I looked around but, no one was there. Maybe I am crazy._

**No you're not crazy. A little shaken maybe, but far from crazy.**

_Who are you?_

**Me? **_the voice changed into a human form. He had long dark hair that went past his waist, and sparkling blue eyes. At the moment, he was only wearing pants… nothing else. Showing off his muscular form. I don't know why but… I didn't feel strange at all seeing this man in front of me. _**Well to put it simply, I'm your other personality.**

_Other personality…?_

**Yup. I was created one night when you were having your world shattering crisis. You needed someone who was strong enough to deal with it, so you made me. Ever since then I'd come out to save you from the pain that you yourself couldn't handle mentally. Basically… I'm like a pain reliever. **_He smirked, like what he just said was an everyday normal thing. _

…_So you take on the pain that I'm too scared of to handle myself? _

_He nodded and I felt more shame and agony flow through me. I brought my legs up to my chest and placed my head on them. More tears streaking down my face. The man, I guess you could call him that, walked over to me and placed a hand on my shoulder._

**Look Yugi, you don't have to feel bad. I don't mind taking the pain for you, as long as you're safe it doesn't matter what happens to me. **

_Thank you… ?_

**Oops forgot to tell yah, I don't really have a name… sooo…mind naming me?**

_I'm not very creative…_

**That's a load of bull! **_he roared, _**You draw for god's sake of course you're creative! Now come on, lay it on me.**

_I stammered, Umm… how about…Daisuke?_

**Daisuke? **_he rubbed his chin thoughtfully before breaking into a smile, _**I like it! From now on call me Daisuke. **_He rubbed my hair playfully, and I couldn't help but laugh. I felt so warm and safe, it was such a familiar feeling. Takashi reminded me so much of…_

_Yami._

_Images of Yami came flooding through my mind. _

_How he saved me from Anzu._

_Stayed with me the whole time…_

_Held me…_

_Protected me…_

_And called me precious._

_I don't know why… but I want to see Yami._

"Yugi! Can you hear me?"

_It was Yami's voice, I could recognize it anywhere. Just hearing his voice, it made me happy. I wanted him to call my name again and again._

**I think it's time for you to wake up? Don't you agree?**

+Innocent I love the sound of your voice when you call my name+

+Normal POV+

Yugi's eyelids fluttered open slowly. He wasn't exactly aware of where he was, but he could feel the softness and warmth of fresh made blankets, and a pillow underneath him. As the blurriness began to fade, he could make out some of his surroundings.

The room had red, almost velvet like walls, with arc-like windows on either side of the walls. The curtains were drawn, but even now he could see the evening sun seeping through. Trying to slip into the room to spread its unending light to the darkest corners. Yugi still felt a little groggy, and when he tried to lift himself up, he felt pain shoot through out his body. He whimpered despite himself, tears prickling the side of his amethyst eyes, when he thought he was going to let loose and cry, he felt his hand being squeezed and turned. Yami was by his side, holding on to his hand, while his head was resting on the bed.

Yugi couldn't help himself but smile. Here he was thinking of Yami, and now he was holding his hand, sleeping so care freely. His expression soften, and a blush light rosy pink blush came over his face. His amethyst orbs were sparkling. 'I really don't want to wake him up…'

**I don't think you'll have to worry about that Yug. He's already stirring by himself.**

Yami slowly awoke, rubbing the sleep from his crimson eyes. When he saw Yugi's angelic expression, Yami couldn't help but smile himself. Yugi was awake and smiling, at him. His heartbeat was going on double time just by staring at Yugi.

"How are you feeling?" Yami asked softly.

Yugi smiled softly, "I'm fine. In a little pain but I'll be fine."

Yami held onto Yugi's hand tightly, "That's great to hear." he smiled, but then his smiled turned serious. "Yugi… what happened to you?"

Yugi stared at the bed sheets. He knew that the question would come up sooner or later, but he didn't think it would be that soon. "I don't want to say…" he spoke quietly.

Yami was obviously confused, "Yugi, you have to tell me. Don't you trust me enough?"

Yugi looked up into Yami's pleading crimson eyes. "Yami… it's not like I don't trust you."

"Then tell me, what happened to you Yugi. Who chained you up to a wall naked."

"I can't tell you…"

"Why. Not." now Yami was getting angry. He didn't want too get angry at all, he was trying his best to be as patient as he could but if he wanted to help Yugi he had to know what he was helping Yugi from right?

"Yami." when they locked eyes, Yami could see both fear, sadness, and confusion in those amethyst eyes. "I want to tell you… but I'm afraid." his body began to shake as Yugi clutched the edge of the blankets.

Yami gently climbed into bed next to Yugi and pulled him into his arms. The smaller teen buried his head into Yami's chest and for a while they just laid there, both comfortable in each others presence.

"I know I've said this before," Yami began, "but I'll wait for you. Really I will. I'm just so bent up on protecting you that I want to know exactly what I'm protecting you from. No matter what it is, I'll make sure that it will never bring you pain again." his finger unconsciously found its way to Yugi's cheek, "Because a face so angelic as yours doesn't need to show such pain."

'What should I do… Yami really seems genuine.'

**I say go for it Kid. He seems like a nice guy, if he wasn't I would have taken over already and kicked his sorry tanned ass out of here.**

_Seriously?_

**I've done it before. And don't ask me when because you weren't really conscious at those times. Now don't mind me, go back to the overly tan kid.**

Yugi let out a sigh, "Yami… what if I tell you that the thing your protecting me from. Was me?"

+Innocent: How do you save someone who is the crime itself?+


	7. Chapter 7

Helllllloooooo ! Fallen has come back from vacation xD.

Did you miss meeee?

Did youuuuu?

Kaiba: No Fallen we din't miss you.

Me: Kaiba I don't care about YUR opinion. Anywho! While i was on vacay i watched alot of avatar the last airbender :D (love that show uberly.) and i started thinking WHY DIDN'T THEY PAIR KATARA AND ZUKO UP! soooo i'm like.. hey... why not make Zutara fanfiction? :D. So that's going to be my next project hahaha :D. ANYWHO! Enjoy chapter 7 of save the innocent. Shattered will come out... next week if i'm not lazy and Spell of Lyrica will come out before school starts. :D

Read, Review, AND ENJOY XD.

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"W-What? What are you talking about Yugi?"

Yugi sighed. Seemed like he been doing that a lot lately, "I'm telling you what you want to hear Yami-kun. The reason why I was tied up in chains, left naked and bloodied in a bed is because of all the sins I've done."

Yami was completely speechless. He didn't know what to say. What _could_ he say?

Yugi let out a sharp laugh, one that shocked Yami, and smiled sadly, "See Yami-kun, I'm not as innocent as you thought I was." he stared down at his hands, "With these hands…" then clutched them tight, "I've killed."

"Yugi, you can't honestly expect me to believe that you've killed someone can you? I know I'm in no position to say that but… Yugi, when I look into your eyes I can't find anything bad in them, or in you."

Yugi bit his lip hard, and wished ,no he_ prayed_, that Yami would just drop the subject and pretend that none of this ever happened. He prayed that, Yami would just leave him. Leave and never come back, because if and when Yami knew about the sins Yugi has committed he'd be just like everyone else.

"You're just saying that. There's nothing good in me!" Yugi yelled, which surprised him greatly. He couldn't help himself though. He knew Yami was lying, just to make him feel better. Yugi was one hundred percent sure of that. "All I am is a sin, a sin in human flesh Yami." his eyes grew darker, as the words began to sink in. "Sin in human flesh, sin in human flesh." Yugi kept on repeated those words with such devastating self loathing that Yami just couldn't take it anymore.

The crimson eyed teen grabbed Yugi by the shoulders and pulled him into a hug, he held onto him so tightly; that Yami was sure he was crushing the petite body against his own. But, he didn't care. All he cared about was stopping Yugi's self hating. To find the cause of it, and destroy it. To make Yugi smile again.

He'd do that at any cost.

"Yugi look at me." he said softly, but Yugi just kept on repeating the same old words. Sin in human flesh. Sin in human flesh. Sin in human flesh. Yami cupped Yugi's face in his hand and brought it upwards, "Yugi," he began. "You are _not_ a sin. You are no where _near_ a sin. You're a gift Yugi. A wonderful, precious gift."

"You don't know anything."

"Y-Yugi?" Yami stuttered. Yugi slapped his hand from his face and glared at him with pale purple eyes.

"You don't know what I've been through. What it's like! You say I'm precious but you have no idea how much pain I've brought upon other people because of my selfishness." Yami tried to interrupt but Yugi just kept on going, "You say that you would understand if I told you but Yami you never will. Face it, I'm just something that amuses you. You're only staying with me because I'm a display object! Something that caught your interest but you'll quickly get tired off." he turned his gaze to the floor, his eyes covered by his blonde bangs. When Yugi looked up, he was smirking, "You really want to help me Yami? You really want to know what in turned me into a living breathing sin?" he wrapped his arms around Yami's neck and placed a kiss on the side of his lips, "I'll show you, with actions," he pressed up against Yami, "rather than words."

Yami was shocked. No not shocked, more like… he was watching something, and he couldn't believe it was actually happening right in front of him. Yugi's personality had just done a 180, from being a shy, flustered, closed in guy; to someone who was throwing himself onto Yami just to prove a point. He knew he should push him away, and do something but he just couldn't bring himself to do it, he was just too shocked.

But… it wasn't like he hadn't thought of doing such things to Yugi before. Just that he'd thought he'd be more on top instead of bottom, and he would be the one making advances onto Yugi but… desperate times does call upon the most desperate of measures onto people.

Yami, after finally collecting his wits, gently pushed Yugi off of him, and laid him down on the bed. Yugi was shocked, he thought Yami would just fall into the seduction and take Yugi. Just like so many others have done before, but maybe… Yami was different after all. 'Nice Yugi… you just pushed away Yami… the one who thinks you're precious.' He waited for Yami to yell at him, or laugh at him for being such a… slut. But none of that came, instead he felt a pair of warm hands caressing his cheek. "You're right Yugi, I don't understand. But whatever happened to you in the past, whoever you met; I'm not like them. I care about you, you're precious to me and I don't care how many times I have to say it, because it's true. I'll wait a year, fifty years, a century, or more, until you're comfortable enough to tell me all about your past."

Yugi couldn't speak, so instead he just fell into the warmth that Yami's hand produced. Yugi could feel himself falling into his subconscious. "You must be tired, I don't blame you." Yugi's eyes were closed, but he could still feel something warm press against his forehead. 'Was that his lips?' "You go to sleep. I'll come back to check on you later." Another kiss on the forehead, "No one's going to hurt you anymore, I promise." Yami whispered. Yugi didn't feel Yami's warmth anymore meaning that Yami had already left. Even though Yami had left, Yugi could still feel the warmth resonating from the places Yami had touched. And for some reason, Yugi cried… hard. For what reason he didn't know, but he couldn't stop the tears that fell from his eyes.

+Innocent: Don't fill my heads with lies. It won't change anything.+

Yami slouched on the couch next to Kaiba and sighed, he was feeling exhausted from today's events. He rubbed his temples in a continuous circle, thinking and sorting through the conversation he had just moments ago. He just wanted to help Yugi, to be someone important to Yugi. Before Yami even knew it he had fallen in love with Yugi's innocence and kind nature and he thought that he was progressing in their relationship, but maybe that was all in his mind.

Jou plopped down in between Kaiba and Yami, "Eh Yami, how's Yug doing?"

Yami sighed for what seemed to be the thousandth time today, "He's sleeping now but…"

"But what?" Kaiba raised an eyebrow.

"But, when I asked him what happened, he went all defensive. Started saying things like I'm a sin in human flesh. Among other things." he blushed at the memory of Yugi kissing him but quickly shook it off.

Jou pushed back some bangs with his hand, "Sorry Yami, I thought Yugi would be able to tell you everything. If not everything then at least some things. Don't get me wrong though, if I would I'd tell yah, but it's not my place to say. So I guess you can just wait-"

"You know Jou," Yami interrupted, "I say I'll wait, but in reality I'm becoming impatient. Yugi's precious to me, and someone's hurting him, or maybe his trauma is hurting him I don't know but I want to be the person that takes all that pain away. But if I don't have the slightest _clue_ where to begin, then I can't save Yugi. All I want is for him to smile without any hint of pain behind it."

Jou was silent, but Kaiba jumped right in, "Cousin, you've fallen for him haven't you?"

"EH!" Jou jumped from the couch, "Kaiba what are you talking about?"

"Jou I knew you were dense but I didn't think that you were this thick headed." Kaiba shook his head and chuckled. Jou blushed and Yami suddenly found the opposite wall very appealing, "Yami, how long have you loved him?"

"Now that I think about it, it was love at first sight." Unbeknownst to the three downstairs, Yugi was listening intently from the upstairs balcony. Before, he was talking to Daisuke about Yami and his conversation. Daisuke didn't really like Yami, why Yugi didn't know why, but Daisuke didn't waste any time telling Yugi off about Yami. But, no matter what he had told Yugi, Yugi couldn't just sit there and do nothing, so he planned to go downstairs and apologize to Yami. He didn't count on Yami, Kaiba, and Jou to be sitting down stairs talking about him. When Yugi walked out of the room, he was just in time to hear Yami talking about loving him at first sight.

Yugi's heartbeat picked up a couple of paces, and he could swear he was blushing. Yami loved him. Why, he had no idea, after all he was just a sin. And sin can bring you down to your most pitiful levels.

"When I saw him, my heartbeat starting beating out of control, and I got this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach, and my hands got all clammy and I swear I couldn't think straight. I had to urge to hold him right there and then, and since that day I couldn't think of anyone else." he clasped his hands together and rested his head on top of them, "All I want… is to see the person I love happy. Is that so wrong…? Is it really that wrong?"

Jou looked towards Kaiba, but the brunette showed no emotions on his face. Then, the blonde turned a sympathetic gaze towards Yami. 'He really is sincere…' he bit his bottom lip and clenched his hands into fists. 'Wheeler… you gotta do this. Sorry Yug.' he let inhaled slowly, which Kaiba caught and stared at the blonde, and let it out. Kaiba raised an eyebrow, and sent a message in his eyes saying: Your not going to do what I think you are.

Jou just nodded and kneeled in front of Yami. From the staircase Yugi was still listening in, he could feel his nerves rising, he knew Jou was going to tell him, and he wanted to run downstairs and stop Jou from saying but something was holding him back. Something was gluing him to that spot in the intention of listening to the conversation below.

_Daisuke, I can't move. _

**Yeah about that, I'm kind of… controlling the part of your brain that affects the lower part of your body. **he laughed a little but stopped when Yugi didn't say anything, **Yugi I'm doing this for your own good. If you rushed down now, you might never know what Yami thinks about your situation. So just be a good boy and sit here while we listen. **

Yugi couldn't do anything against Daisuke so he just sat there and listened into the conversation. Jou blew some hair from his face, "Yami, look at me man." Yami slowly looked up to face Jou, face serious, chocolate brown eyes glistening with a mixture of sadness and seriousness. "Yugi, is being raped by his father." the words were chocked out as Jou did his best to remain calm.

Yami however, was not calm. His eyes widened and it felt like he had just been punched in the stomach repeatedly. He unconsciously held the sides of his stomach as a repulsive feeling surged through him. From above Yugi could see Yami's reaction and felt the same kind of sickness. He didn't know how Yami would take this, but somewhere in the corner of his mind there was an easing sensation, that maybe… just maybe… Yami really was different.

Yami took several deep breathes before calming down. He stared at Jou intently, "How long?"

"For about five years."

"How long have you and Kaiba known this for?" his voice was still even, low, and serious.

Jou stared at Kaiba who answered, "For two years now."

"And why haven't you done anything!" Yami stood up and balled his fists in anger. He was absolutely furious that Jou and Kaiba had let Yugi suffer like that for so long. What kind of friends were they! Just leaving Yugi at the mercies of his father… it was absolutely incredulous. "You guys are his friends! You should have busted down those doors years ago and brought him out. Lock up the father and sell the house or something!" he looked towards Kaiba with blazing crimson eyes, "You have the fucking power to take out the Prime Minister of Japan with a simple wave of your hand, but you can't save Yugi! That's just fucking low Kaiba."

"Yami-!" but Jou was caught off by the slam of Kaiba's fist connecting with Yami's face. From above, Yugi could hear the flesh connecting with flesh and flinched at the sound.

**Sounds like things are getting rough. Looks like fun.**

_Daisuke… _

**What? Oh… right sorry wrong time to say that. **

"You have no fucking right to talk like that." Kaiba swore. The cobalt eyed brunette never swore unless someone seriously pissed him off. "You just walk in here thinking you can protect Yugi. You have no idea how many bloody times me and Jou have tried to drag Yugi out of that fucking hellhole of a house and throw his father in jail for life. But you want to know something Cousin?" he paused and took a moment to look at Yami's face, he was utterly surprised. His mouth was open and his crimson eyes were wide. Yami was holding his hand where Kaiba's fist had left a mark. His breathing calmed down and he couldn't come out with the words he wanted to say. A first for Kaiba.

So, Jou stood up and placed a comforting hand on the brunette's shoulder before locking onto Yami's eyes with his own honey ones. "Yugi doesn't want to be saved." he smiled sadly, "He just shook his head and smile at us with teary eyes and said that sins like him don't get forgiveness." his words were choked as he willingly let the tears fall, "My best friend… thinks he's a sin… and doesn't want us to save him." he cried onto the sleeves of his shirt as Kaiba did his part in holding the blonde tight.

Yami looked at the floor, ashamed of his outburst on the two. 'If only I had known… if only-' His thoughts were broken when he heard the stairs creek. The three looked up to find Yugi standing up at the staircase. Jou quickly wiped the tears away and Yugi tried his best not to stare directly at Yami because he had no idea how he'd react if he saw Yami now.

"Umm… sorry guys, I heard voices downstairs and…" he stared at Yami who slowly locked gazes with him as well. "Jou," Yugi started, "I'm sorry I made you cry."

"Yug, it's not your fault-"

"Yes it is Jou. I'm always bringing people pain wherever I go." he smiled sadly, "I'm just sorry you have to be friends with someone like me."

Yami couldn't take it anymore, he rushed up to Yugi and wrapped his arms around Yugi's own small body. He held onto him so tightly, he was sure Yugi couldn't breathe or move. "Yugi listen to me." he began, "Don't ever say you're a sin. You are nowhere near that. Yugi can't you see, you don't deserve any of this. Your father has no right to do that to you. You are a human being, with thoughts, feelings, emotions. And your father-"

"Yami!" he pushed him away, "You have no idea Yami-kun. No freaking idea! So just stop alright? Just stop trying to be my knight in shining armor. I've been handling things just fine without you."

"Fine? You think it's fine to be chained up to a bed for a week without food or water! Is that your definition of fine."

"You just don't know anything." Yugi mumbled. Even thought he hated it, he knew Yami was right. He knew that more and more it was becoming dangerous to be with his father. That over the years his behavior had become more and more erratic. But what could Yugi do, he had sins to pay for and he wasn't quite done yet.

Yugi felt firm hands touch his shoulder, "Then tell me Yugi. Tell me so I can understand." his hand shook along with his body. "Please… trust me…" Yugi felt helpless, completely helpless. He felt pain watching Yami's broken state in front of him. How much more pain is he going to have to put Yami through, just to keep him from convicting him just like so many other have.

Now he was torn, between keeping Yami at bay, or telling Yami everything.

**Kid I think he deserves to know.**

_But what if he really is just like everyone else! And will leave me when I tell him. I… I can't go through that. I don't want to lose Yami-kun._

**I know you don't Kid. But you have to take the risk. You'd have a higher chance of Yami staying with you if you tell him. You can't keep having him at bay, soon he'll get tired and leave. And that would just hurt even more. **

…_I really hate how your making sense right now Daisuke._

**Really? I like it. Now, tell Yami you'll tell him everything, but not here.**

_Why not here?_

**Take a look. **Yugi looked towards Kaiba and Jou who both had unreadable looks on their faces. The only emotion Yugi could see was from Jou's eyes. There was something sad in them, but at the same time understanding. **Right now, this is a moment only you and Yami can share. **

_You're right… _

**Normally I'm right. **

"Okay Yami… I'll tell you everything." Yami's eyes lit up in happiness as he hugged Yugi once again, "But not here… if I'm going to tell you it has to be one on one."

Yami nodded, "Alright I understand." he turned to Kaiba who was already tossing his keys towards him. "Thanks Kaiba." the brunette simply nodded, "Yugi, you go get changed and we'll leave when you're ready." Yugi nodded and silently walked up the stairs.

"Looks like Yugi's warming up to yah." Jou patted Yami's shoulder while grinning goofily.

He smiled back, "Looks like it…"

"Something wrong?"

Yami shook his head, "No it's just, I don't know what to expect but it's like I'm not even scared. Whatever Yugi's about to tell me I'm fully prepared to listen." he laughed a little, "Isn't that strange."

"I don't think it's that strange Cousin." Kaiba smoothed some of Jou's hair, "You love him right? So you're already accepting of the events that have happened. This just means your ready to advance in your relationship with Yugi."

Yami smiled, "I guess your right Kaiba."

"Alright Yami I'm ready." Yugi was standing at the end of the steps wearing a light purple long sleeved shirt and black jeans. "Mokuba let me borrow some of his clothes." he looked up at Yami, but when their eyes met there was no nervousness, only trust, "Ready to go?"

"Ready." he nodded, "Kaiba we'll be back later."

"Take your time Yami. We'll be fine here."

Yami nodded and walked over to Yugi, holding out his hand he asked, "Have any place in mind?"

Yugi stared at Yami's hand for a while before slowly grabbing onto his hand, "Yeah I do. We won't need the car though, where we're going should be close enough for us to walk."

"Sounds good to me." Yami smiled, and the two walked out the door hand in hand.


	8. Chapter 8

I am sorrrrry that I am late with my updating D: . I've been uber busy/lazy/weirdy feeling/blah... /

Yami: Okay Fallen just get on with this.

Me: Right right, sorry. Anywho, I decided to actually sit down and write this up for all the people who like this story. I wasssss going to post Shattered but I have to revise that one a little before posting it so that might come out... god knows when O_O. ALSO! I'm getting into Naruto fanfic again... so this story might come out a little slower than anticipated ;D but if i get some feedback, and some reviews, and some overall good results then hopefully i can get this story out faster :D.

Yugi: Hooray for positivity. -throws confetti-

Me: YUSSSSS! :D.

Read, Review, and please do Enjoy 3

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The pair walked the streets of Domino hand in hand. Not caring about the glances they got from other people because their minds were at work thinking of other things. Yami, about what Yugi was about to tell him; and Yugi about how he was going to tell him.

There was silence between the pair, and Yami just had to break it. "So where are we going?" he asked quietly.

Yugi replied with the same quietness. "The park."

"The park?" Yugi nodded, "Any particular reason why?"

"There is…" the two had entered the park gate, and Yugi led them to the swings. Yugi sat on one swing, Yami the other. The park was pretty much deserted give or take the couple of animals that were running around. Yami shivered a little, it was turning into early fall, and he could feel the chill a little. "You see… this is the park where I committed my second sin."

Yami raised an eyebrow, he thought he'd be getting the story involving his dad. But maybe Yugi just wasn't ready to tell him that yet.

Yugi smirked, "I know what you're thinking. The first sin is connected with this one." he started to swing slowly, his feet brushing the ground ever so lightly. As he gazed up into the evening sky, he willed himself to push back against the barriers of his mind that were locking away his painful memories. He scrunched his face thinking of where to begin.

"If it's too painful for you Yugi, we can-"

"-No, that's not it." he let out a small laugh, "I'm just thinking of where to begin."

Yugi smirked a little, "It's always good to begin at the beginning."

Yugi pouted and pushed Yami's swing a little. Yami laughed at the gesture, "I know that." Yugi said, "It's just there's a lot to tell."

"Well start where you feel most comfortable at."

Yugi let out a sigh, "Alright…" he started to swing slowly again. The sun began to set as he began to tell his story.

+Flashback: Yugi's POV+

_It all started… when I was around five or six. That's how long my first dad stayed with us, when he left Mom was a wreck. She started drinking _a lot _and she was always staying out late. For awhile… I was truly alone. Locked up in my room all the time, sitting with my knees up to my chest and my head on my knees, just wondering when my mother was going to come back._

_And for awhile… for a six year old kid, I was depressed._

_The only thing that kept me going was my grandpa's daily visits. At the time my grandpa was my shining angel, my hero, my knight… you get the point. But really… my grandfather is probably the main reason why I'm here today. _

_When he came over, he'd bring me lots of goodies and food. And would always take me out of that old and empty house to do things that I probably would have never gotten the chance to do. He took me out for my first ball game, he took me ice skating for the first time, he took me out on my for holidays. He really was the best._

_But then one day… he was gone. Just like that. Disappeared from my life and never came back again, and once again I fell back into that hole of depression I was in. _

_My mothers drinking was only getting worse and worse, and sometimes it was like she never even bothered to come home. As time passed by, I grew up knowing that it was easy for people to abandon you, to only think of themselves. I learned to take care of myself, and only myself; because that's the only way I could have survived._

_But one night that all changed._

_My mother crept in, and found her way underneath my sheets. She wrapped her arms around my waist and just started to bawl. She let out all of her emotions, all of what she was feeling out on me. I guess she could do that because she thought I was sleeping that night, but I was wide awake. _

_She told me she was sorry for being the way she was… that she was wrong. That from now on… she'd do her better to make up for the past three years she'd been AWOL. My hands found their way to her own two hands and gripped them tightly. I turned around and faced my mother and told her not to worry, that I love her no matter what and that no matter what happens, I'll always protect her._

_That night I finally felt my mother's warm embrace again._

+End of flashback. Normal POV.+

Yugi thought he would be crying right now, but his eyes were dry and he actually felt pretty confident. It was like this heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders; and for the first time in is life he felt really good.

He swung back and forth looking up at the reddish-orange sky waiting for a reply from Yami. Even if he felt at ease, he still couldn't look Yami in the eye. He was just that much of a confusing person.

Yami came up from behind and wrapped his arms around Yugi's shoulder. He hugged him tightly and buried his face into the crook of his neck. "I'm so sorry…" was all he could say. Yugi gently patted the top of Yami's head and closed his eyes in content.

Yugi smiled a little and laughed, "Yami I haven't even gotten into the story yet. It's already just the beginning and you're ready to cry."

Yami smiled a little too, "I can't help it. It was just too moving that's all, but I know that's only a fraction of what you're going to tell me."

Yugi smirked, "A fraction? Oh no Yami… we haven't even started yet."

+Flash back Yugi's POV+

_After two years of living in a home with a single mother, mom finally found someone. He really looked like my dad a lot, or a lot of what I remembered of my dad. When he left I was pretty young, so I don't remember him that much; and it wasn't like he was home enough for me to get to know him. _

_Anyway, from the photos I've seen with all of us together; my new dad, Kyouske, had the same black colored hair as my dad did. Same broad shoulders, same slim figure, same deep rich voice, and the same coal black eyes. That's what my mother told me anyway._

_So one day, I'm sitting in the living room; working on my homework and my mom walks in with a bright smile on her face. To me, my mom was the most beautiful person in the world. She had long flowing black hair with purple tips at the end of her hair, with blonde bangs that framed her face perfectly. She also was probably the shortest person you will ever meet, maybe that's why I'm as tall as I am now._

_My mom (who by the way her name was Haruhi) tells me that she met this man today. Where she didn't tell me; but what she did tell me was that she couldn't get him out of her mind. After that day, they kept on bumping into each other, and after that they finally went on their first date, and after _that _they got married. _

_Soon we moved into Kyouske's house which was way bigger than our old house. He welcomed me with open arms, and I couldn't say no. I ran into those arms gladly because Mom had actually found someone who made her happy. Finally we had a family again…_

_But of course, that didn't last long. _

_It was my last year of elementary school, and in fifth grade I became friends with Anzu. We became inseparable, joined at the hip you could say. We told each other everything, and honestly Anzu was my first real friend. _

_At the time, this was the happiest moment of my life, but of course, happiness doesn't last forever. _

_Kyouske stumbled home drunk one night. His breath reeked of liquor and his appearance was all dirtied. He grabbed my mom by the hand and attempted to drag her upstairs. She kept on resisting, trying to break free. I was shocked, wondering why he was doing this; that even if he was drunk he should still have some reasoning. Then he brought out a sharp object that glinted in the dim light. It was a knife… _

_My father was out for blood._

_I stood up and rushed over to my struggling parents, after that… I don't remember much. It's pretty blank; I think maybe I was knocked out from the struggling, but I don't know. When I woke up the next morning, my hands were stained in blood and my mother's lifeless body. In my right hand I was holding the knife my father was handling not so long ago, but it was all bloodied and stained._

_I dropped the knife and stared in shocked. My body was shaking violently and tears were running down my face. Somehow… someway… I ended up killing my own mother. Unconscious, or conscious, whatever… I killed her. My hands were stained with the deed I had done. _

_My father was sitting right across from us, his body slumped, his eyes rolled in the back of his head, his mouth hung slightly open. Had I killed him too? Apparently not because soon he began to stir. His eyes blinked once… twice… three times. He squinted, like he was trying to get a focus on what was going on, his muddy purple eyes widened, then closed again. He sat up slowly placing his hands on his knees for support. _

_Slowly he dragged his feet across the floor, like they were heavy with lead. I still remember the fear that was in me. My heart beat was audible, my blood was pumping, and with each sloppy foot that hit the ground the sound resonated through my ears. _

_When he reached me, he slowly kneeled so that we were face to face. My amethyst eyes were wide with fears and the tears that were falling kept on going with full force. Slowly he tried to stretch out a hand to me, but I slapped it away and ran out of the house, as far as I could. _

_I've been running for I don't know how long, but by the time I reached the park my legs gave way and I collapsed near the big oak tree in the middle of the park. I couldn't go on anymore, I couldn't think, I couldn't control myself. My body was in fetal position shaking violently on the ground. My mind was going crazy and the only sounds I made were howls of desperation. _

_I don't even know how long I stayed at that park, but by the time I raised my head, the sun was setting, the park was practically deserted. Slowly I sat up, but as soon as I did I felt like I was just smacked in the head. Pain rang through my head as I gripped it tightly. I must have been crying so hard that I gained myself a headache. I stared down at my hands again, the blood was dried and clumps of dirt and grass hung from my hands. I brushed them up lightly and sat at the base of the tree. All dried up. _

_I wondered what I would do from now on. I didn't have the strength to go back; and I didn't have the sanity left to face my father and now deceased mother. Just thinking of my mother's cold lifeless eyes staring up at me, her mouth dribbling with blood, new tears came to my eyes. _

_I couldn't help but cry, I felt so… dirtied… so… confused. How did I end up killing my own mother in the blink of an eye? Was it by accident…? I gripped onto my bangs in frustration and let out another howl, screaming over and over again into the wind, "I'm sorry Oka-san. I'm sorry."_

_Then… I felt weightless. Like I was being lifted up into the air, maybe it was one of Kame-sama's angels come to take me home, or maybe… it was Satan's devils come to drag me down below for the sin I have committed._

"_Is everything okay…?" the man looked down at me. It was someone I've never met before and normally the first thing a ten year old should do is run away but like I said before, I didn't have enough energy to go anywhere._

_For some reason… I spilled everything out to this guy. I don't even know why, maybe it was the way he was holding me, or maybe it was the way his eyes showed complete compassion and kindness, or maybe it was just because I went through something completely shocking and telling the first stranger I saw just felt normal to me._

_Either way when I ended up telling him my story he did something I completely didn't expect. He kissed the top of my head… then hugged me. My dulled amethyst eyes widened then dulled, as I fell into the warmth his body created. _

_What he said I didn't pay attention to, because the warmth of another human being just felt so good at the moment. He stroked my hair and told me that if I didn't go home soon, things would just get worse. He also told me something… something about it wasn't my fault, that it was just a misunderstanding, but I didn't hear him. I was too busy shaking in fear of what was awaiting for me if I returned home. _

"_Don't be scared." he said through a whisper. "Everything will be all right."_

_But of course, _nothing _was all right._

_The night I came home, the police had parked outside our house with the yellow tape they used during investigations. When I walked into the living room, my mother's body was covered with a sheet and a sign that said _Refrain from touching_. When I walked in the cops flooded around me, asking me questions of where I was at the time of the murder. I couldn't answer any of them properly, I looked for the man who had brought me home but he was no where to be found. _

_I felt cold hands grip my shoulder tightly and it took all my willpower not to squeak or flinch. I willed myself to look up, my father was right behind me, sporting a smile I knew was fake. _

"_Thank you officers, but I think that's enough. My son (he sneered at the word subtly but I could feel it) has been through enough tonight. I'll take him upstairs and stay with him until he falls asleep." he started to push me up the stairs. That cold hard grip never leaving my shoulders. When we reached my room, he locked the door behind us and for the third time tonight I felt true fear strike through my body._

_Before I could react I was already on the bed and my dad was leaning over me. I could smell faint traces of booze from his breath. Oh great… he was drinking again. _

"_You know… I could just rat you out right now." I knew very well he could rat me out at any moment… but he didn't. What I wanted to know… was why? "You maybe wondering, why don't I just kick your sorry excuse of an ass out of here, well here's your answer." his hands snaked his way to my butt and squeezed one of the cheeks. I gasped at the sensation, it was the first time anyone has ever done that to me. The fear that was running through me kicked up in speed. "Because… this ass is just too darn cute to kick. So here's what I'm offering…" he groped my butt continually, "Every night… I get to use this," he poked a finger at my hole, "however, and whenever… I want."_

_My eyes widened in fear, I may have only just been twelve but I knew enough about sex and what not to know that I was in serious trouble. But what was I supposed to do, I was twelve just like I said. Just killed their own mother, and now cops are downstairs in my living room waiting to arrest whoever committed the murder. _

_So as my only resort… I let my father defile my body._

"_I knew you would agree, after all, you are a sin… looking to do anything for forgiveness."_

_Because all I am is a sin._

+Innocent: End of Flashback+

+Normal POV+

By now the two had moved from their spot at the swing set and were currently sitting under the great big oak tree in the middle of the park. The same oak tree that Yugi had ran too during his time of insanity. Yugi was sitting in between Yami's legs, with Yami's arms wrapped loosely around his waist. The two didn't know how they ended up like that, but they couldn't complain. It felt right that their bodies were naturally drawn together.

Yami started to rock Yugi back and forth in his arms. He knew Yugi wouldn't cry in front of him like this, but he knew deep down inside he must be hurting to have to remember all of this, but one thing didn't make sense. "Yugi, you said you were knocked out before your mother was killed right?" Yugi nodded slowly, "Then how could you have done the deed? You were knocked out for a while, only to have been waken up to the sight of your mom like that but still… I don't think you killed your mom."

"So you're saying that I just happened to have a knife in my hand that just happened to kill my mom?" Yugi asked sarcastically.

"No… Yugi that's not what I'm saying." he turned Yugi around so that they were facing each other, "I'm just saying that you have to think of this from another point of view. More… rationally. Your parents were fighting on the staircase right?" Yugi nodded curtly, "And your father was originally holding the knife right?" Yugi nodded again, "So after you rushed onto the staircase didn't you grab the knife?" he nodded for the third time, "Then sometime during the struggle your mother must have made contact with the knife, maybe by stumbling down the stairs. That's why when you woke up you were at the bottom of the stairs with your mother's lifeless body…"

"So you're saying it's all an accident…" Yugi's voice was a whisper, a dark shadow hid his expression.

"Exactly… Yugi it was never your fault…" when he didn't get a response from Yugi, he almost said his name again but stopped when he saw tears falling from his face. Immediately he held onto to the weeping teen, rocking him back and forth in his arms. Rubbing circles on his back and whispering incoherent words to him.

"It was all an accident?" he kept on whispering those words to himself. "My mother died… in an accident…?" he looked up at Yami, "Yami… what if I never tried to stop them… would my mom still be here…? Would I have to go through all this if I didn't try to be the knight in shining armor?"

Yami kept rocking him back and forth, "I don't know Yugi. I can't tell you what would have happened. Fate...life… they all have a way of making things complicated for us humans. But," he smiled at Yugi, "I have to say I'm impressed, stepping up to help your mother like that at only age twelve. You really did your love your mom, and I know she's looking down on you right now smiling at you."

Just as Yami said those words, the clouds parted and the sunlight that seeped through shined down on Yugi, bringing out the best in him. Yugi smiled to himself, and knew that Yami was right, and that his mother really was smiling down upon him… that she really did still love him.

Yugi laughed and wiped the remaining tears away, "Yami you're so cheesy."

Yugi faked pouted, "I thought what I said was really sincere." Yugi laughed some more but Yami quickly grew serious, "So what about Anzu? And this park, how does this all relate to your… 'second sin.'"

Yugi's smile dimmed a little, "Remember the man I met at the park?" Yugi nodded, "That man… is my second sin…"

+Innocent: Even if my mother's death was an accident, my hands still have the memories of her blood.+


	9. Chapter 9

Ellllo my lurvely readers, and welcome to chapter 9 of Save the Innocent!

I'm bloody sick T^T, stupid allergies.

Kaiba: Fallen, you're not british. How many times do I have to tell you that you Wanker.

Me: Kaiba you're about as british as I am, and don't use wanker it's dirty...

Kaiba: Wanker.

Jou: Wanker.

Yami: Wanker. Wanker. Wanker.

Me: GAHHHH! Sometimes I wonder how I stand you people.

Yugi: Fallen... Um.. isn't there something you wanted to tell them?

Me: Something... wanted to tell... -thinks- Oh righttt. this chapter is lengthy in my opinion, in this chapter you learn about Yugi's second sin. Also, I hope to find a beta reader soon, it'll help greatly, but idk, do i just have to message a beta reader to be my beta reader?

Kaiba: That would be the smart thing to do Fallen.

Me: Grr, Kaiba, Grr. Anywho... um... anyone wanna be my beta reader? :) Or help me find a good one? That'll be highly appreciated! Anyway please do enjoy chapter nine of STI, b/c if you didn't enjoy that would suck D: .

* * *

+Innocent: My Second Sin+

+Yugi's POV+

_It was my second year of Junior high, news spread like wildfire about the incident. My murder. My sin. People avoided me like the plague, afraid that I would kill them too. Of course, I tried my best to defend myself but after awhile, I just started to believe them. _

_So just like they shunned me, I shunned them. I closed myself from the rest of the world. Hoping, praying, that someone would save me from my Hell._

_You see, for the past year or two I've been having to juggle school, bullies, stereotyping teachers, and my father's constant rape. _

_It was a surprise I didn't have a mental breakdown. _

_Anyway, about half way through the seventh grade me and Anzu grew apart. It was bound to happen one of these days. Every time we shared glances I saw fear and confusion in those blue orbs of her. It sent overwhelming sadness throughout my body, knowing that my childhood friend thought that I was a monster too._

_Just like everyone else._

_But one day, I met someone different. Or so I thought. Our homeroom teacher took her maternity leave, meaning that for the rest of the school year we'd need a new teacher. When he walked in, I could feel the temperature of the room increase. My face got all flushed when I caught him staring at me, like we were the only two in the room. Everyone else (mostly the girls) were gushing about the new teacher. _

_Especially Anzu._

_Because, you see… the teacher, was actually the man I met at the park. _

_And Anzu, was going to do everything she could to get him to be hers._

_But, that didn't stop me from also having an infatuation with him._

_He smirked to himself, even though I caught it instantly. So did Anzu, she always caught the glances me and Sensei shared. Each glance fueling her jealousy._

_Me and Sensei became close, he always offered to eat with me during lunch, to help me with my homework._

_To be my friend._

_He even told me I could call him by his first name, Daisuke._

_"Daisuke…san." my face lit on fire, as a blush grazed my pale skin._

_He laughed, "Just like that Yugi."_

_"Daisuke-san." I liked the way his name felt as it rolled off my tongue and out of my lips. I liked the way Daisuke smiled at me whenever I said his name, and I liked the way Daisuke always gave me a kiss to the head before walking off to class._

_A couple of days later, Anzu stopped me in the hallway, pulling me into a hug, a hug that wasn't full of warmth, but bone chilling cold. I flinched at the contact, not only because it was cold, but because I suffered a rough night from my father. She caught the flinch and pouted, not at all happy with my reaction._

_"Yugi, I know we haven't talked in a while but that doesn't mean you have to flinch."_

_"S-Sorry Anzu." I stuttered, nervousness flowing through me. "I'm just… in a little pain that's all." I gave her the best smile I could manage, but something was nagging at me in the back of my mind that Anzu suddenly appearing wasn't right._

_Anzu smiled back, but it never reached her eyes, "So you and Sensei seem close, ne?"_

_I knew it, she wanted me to help her get Daisuke-san. I felt my heart speed up, I didn't want to share him, he was mine. But… Anzu was finally talking to me, after all this time. Of course, she was talking to me for all the wrong reasons._

_I nodded softly, "Hn, you could say that."_

_She clapped her hands and cheered, "Yatta! This helps me so much better!" she looked at me with hopeful eyes, "Yugi do you mind hooking me and Sensei up?"_

_"Uh… Um… Anzu…" I felt my heart constrict. I didn't want to share Daisuke, he was mine, or so I told myself. Giving him up to Anzu would mean losing the only friend I had left. I couldn't handle that at all. "Don't you think, he's a little too old for you." _

_Anzu looked at me like I just asked her the most stupid question ever. She let out a sharp laugh, and waved her hand at me absentmindedly, "Yugi he's only in his twenty's! Besides, in this day and age there are so many couples with a good amount of age difference. Take the guy who owns the PlayBoy Mansion for example."_

_Honestly, that reference shouldn't even been made because he was like sixty… but who was I to judge? I slowly nodded, hating how this conversation was turning out. "So you really like Sensei?"_

_"I love him so much!" she gushed, "He is the hottest thing I have ever seen."_

_Hottest? That's when it hit me, Anzu didn't like Daisuke because of his personality. Oh no, she liked him all because of his looks. When did she turn so shallow? "You only love him for his looks?" Anzu nodded enthusiastically, like it was the most natural thing in the world to like a guy for their looks. "Isn't that kind of… shallow?"_

_She gasped, looking like she just got slapped in the face. Her blue orbs widened before dulling to a glare, "Are you calling me shallow Yugi?" she hissed my name._

_I started to back away, shaking my head furiously, "No, No I never said-"_

_"Yes you did Yugi! You're calling me shallow! Well you know what I don't need any help from a freak like you. I'll get Sensei by myself." she tossed her hair, and with her head held high stalked off, leaving me alone in the hallway._

_Freak like you…._

_Freak like you…_

_Freak._

_That's what I am… a freak. _

_I slid to the ground, hands gripping my chest, eyes stinging with tears. Why am I crying? I don't know. Maybe because my "friend" thinks of me as a freak. Or maybe, just maybe, it was because she was planning on using me to get Daisuke._

_Months passed after that incident, and it looked like Anzu had succeeded, or so it seemed. She was always with Daisuke, twenty-four seven. During lunch, she was on top of him, like he was a chair. Always feeding him, like he couldn't do that for himself. Anzu always made her skirt a little to short, and her shirts were always a little too tight. _

_Seeing her latch onto Daisuke everyday sent waves of jealousy throughout my system. Didn't she know he was mine? How could she take my only friend away? _

_But what really hurt me most, was the looks he sent her, those eye to eye conversations. The ones me and Daisuke used to have. Anzu had stolen that from me too._

_Now, I'm the only one who sits beneath the sakura tree at the school. The only one who gets adorned with it's soft petals as it caresses my skin. The only one that the wind spent any time, blowing the few pieces of hair that clung to my face, and gently blowing away my tears. _

_A shadow came over me, and I was afraid to look up, but I heard that warm deep husky voice that always sent a blush wild across my face, and my heart racing. I looked up and smiled; it was Daisuke._

_He told me he was terribly sorry for not being able to be with me the past couple of weeks. I shook my head and gave him the best smile I could, which was pretty feeble, and told him it was alright. That I shouldn't have to hog him all to myself, that I'd have to share._

_Daisuke cocked his head to the side, and slowly sat next to me, ruffling my spiky hair. He asked me how things at home were, and I told him they were same old same old. He nodded with complete understanding. _

_For the rest of lunch, I had Daisuke back at my side. The cold empty feeling that once followed me everywhere I go was now filled with warmth. He hugged me, and whispered softly into my ears: "Meet me at the park tonight." It wasn't a question, he was expecting me there._

_I nodded and smiled up at him, his warm coal black eyes smiling at me too. He pulled his hair into a pony tail, one that brushed his shoulders. A few stray bangs were left in place, giving him a young, fresh look. I blushed, he was just so… handsome._

_He placed a kiss on my forehead, and told me he couldn't wait to see me tonight. Neither could I. We said our goodbyes and I relaxed on the sakura tree. Everything felt so right, everything felt so warm._

_For the first time in two years I felt so… complete._

_So… loved?_

_I shook my head and giggled. Daisuke was only being nice to me, he never told me he loved me… but I felt it. Deep in my little heart, I felt that love that he had for me. _

_The bell rang then, signaling it was time for to get to class. What I didn't know was the fact that Anzu saw every single thing that happened underneath that sakura tree, and she was plotting every single step she would take to make that tonight miserable._

_+Innocent: What I once loved, will be taken away from me.+_

_I swung awkwardly on the sings, watching all the people that came in and out of the part. Enjoying the cool night that was so happily granted to me. My father, Anzu, the world, were the farthest things from my mind. All I could think about was Daisuke._

_Daisuke, Daisuke, Daisuke. _

_Daisuke. Daisuke. Daisuke._

_I heard the sound of leaves crinkling, and felt a sudden grasp on the reins of the swings. I looked up and stared face to face with Daisuke. His features were so innocent, that I let my own ignorance blind me of what was to come._

_He brought me over to a secluded spot of the park, and brought me on his lap. Instantly I felt something poke my backside, but I didn't pay any mind to it. I snuggled into the warmth, and he buried his head into my neck. I felt something warm and wet press against my neck, it left goose bumps all over my skin. _

_"Yugi." he whispered my name countless times. Each name had a kiss afterwards._

_I should have been scared, when I felt his hand grace its way up my shirt._

_I should have been scared, when he pinched my perked nipple, and a moan escaped my lips._

_And I should have been scared, when his tongue ran over my bottom lip, and plunged into my mouth._

_But I wasn't._

_Why? I don't know. In theory, I probably wasn't registering what was happening. I was too caught up in the emotions of it all. _

_We were sprawled on the ground, his tongue doing wonders to my body. His touch lighting things on fire, making me moan, making me feel pleasure when I should have felt pain. _

_He looked at me with lust fill eyes, his normally pinned up black hair fell from his shoulders, making him look like a fallen angel. His grip on my wrist tightened, and I felt something nudge my entrance. _

_I knew what would happen next._

_I looked up at him, my amethyst eyes twinkling, the fear was now setting in. "Daisuke…san, what are you- AH!" the finger was inserted, going in and out in and out. Trying to find my special spot._

_He kept biting my bottom lip, nibble, nibble, bite. Blood was filling my mouth, mixing in with the saliva. His tongue was suffocating me. His finger was probing the entrance my father violated every single night._

_No matter how much I protested, no matter how much my body squirmed, no matter how much I chocked up saliva, and blood, and bile. He continued, intent on raping me under this tree. I let my tears fall, knowing, believing, that love was something that got you hurt._

_That with love, it only brings you pain._

_That with love… you're a fool if you believe in it._

_I'm a fool._

_A fool who was in a love._

_Now I'm a fool who's about to be raped._

_I don't know what happened after that, I think I passed out afterwards. When I woke up, Daisuke was on the ground, dazed and bloodied. I was about to scream, but something in my mind stopped me. Something, told me… It's alright, leave the bloodied fool behind and run._

_Run as fast as you can, and don't look back._

_I got up and ran as fast as I could, the park was deserted now and the only thing left were shadows. Terrifying mocking shadows, stalking me everywhere I turned. The park was bigger than I imagined, and Daisuke was stirring, soon he was chasing after me. Calling my name over and over again. _

_Trying to stop my escape._

_We were in the middle of the street now, Daisuke finally caught me in his grasp. He pulled me into a tongue induced kiss. Somehow, his tongue was cut, and blood was mixed in once again with my saliva as he played and tortured my tongue._

_To my dismay, Anzu was on the other side of the street. Viewing all of this, but she didn't say a word. She gripped onto the handle of her handbag, bright blue orbs surging with fear. Her body racking in anger as she did her best to maintain cool._

_Bright lights blurred my vision, my lip felt sore, my body felt used, my heart felt shattered. He tried pulling me into another kiss. The bright lights were approaching, the sound of a car horn was evident, the fear was rising. _

_I pushed Daisuke away, he toppled to the ground, and before I knew it, he was surrounded by a pool of blood. The car was on the opposite side of the road, and the driver was going into a state of panic. The driver quickly dialed 911, asking me if I were alright. Saying: "Oh my God, Oh my God, I killed someone!"_

_My mind was transmitting everything in slow motion, nothing seemed real. Everything was surreal. The new dead corpse of my teacher, the pool of blood that surrounded him, the lifeless eyes staring up at me, condemning me, blaming me, calling me a monster._

_Anzu rushed over to the scene, and started to pull on an act. Her eyes were puffy and red, and she was gripping on to Daisuke's bloody shirt. She was wise not to scream; Sensei. Instead she yelled out her name for the heavens to hear._

_"Daisuke! Daisuke!" she looked at me now, her eyes stone cold. Her fingernails caked with blood. She spat at me and hissed my name, "You killed him you little freak! You couldn't stand the fact that maybe, just maybe he liked me better than you! You jealous little bastard, now he's dead! And it's; All. Your. Fault." more tears ran down her face, her teeth seemed almost fang-like, "Go die Yugi Motou. Go die so no one else has to suffer."_

_I ran. I ran hard, I ran fast, I ran until I couldn't run anymore._

_For days I stayed out of sight, walking from place to place, not even knowing where my body would take me. I collapsed in the front of a building, my body giving out, my eyelids dulling. It started to rain then, but not even heavens tears could wash away my sin._

_I killed another._

_My hands were stained once again._

_I think I passed out again, when I woke up I was surrounded by fluffy white pillows, and a warm nice blanket. I snuggled into the warmth, the warmth that only objects could give me now. Footsteps padded across the floor, stopping towards my bed._

_"Finally you're awake." the voice was warm, inviting, full of innocence. But I learned enough now, that I shouldn't, I wouldn't, I couldn't fall for that. I stared up at the voice, that belonged to a boy who was probably eight or nine. He had medium long black hair, that looked like a lion's mane, and his onyx black eyes contrasted so well with his tanned skin. "We found you passed out at my onii-chan's building. We were so worried when you wouldn't respond." he looked up towards the doorway, "Weren't we Onii-chan."_

_"Onii-chan" who was actually Kaiba, leaned against the doorway. I remember seeing him from school, he was the heir to the Kaiba Corp industry. He was always being praised and admired by both students and teachers. He was like a bright light that you just couldn't ignore. _

_He glazed down at me, and I was afraid he would kick me out. Knowing the deeds that I have committed, instead he walked up to the bed, sat down, and ruffled my hair. "Jeez, don't scare me like that Yugi." he smiled at me, cobalt eyes shining. "I have no idea what happened, but you're in no shape to go home. Stay here for the night, we'll take care of you."_

_"Why…?" my voice was barely a whisper, "Why are you so kind to me… a freak… a murderer… a-"_

_He stopped me in mid-sentence, "First of all, I know that someone like you Yugi couldn't hurt a fly. Second of all, Kaiba Corp also has ties to the police force, I looked into the record of your case and found that it was all an accident. You were just protecting your mother, as the charges claim. The case was dropped sadly, and no one ever looked at it again."_

_"You… looked at my case?"_

_Kaiba nodded curtly, he didn't seem embarrassed at all, "Well I wanted to know the truth. I don't like believing gossip, especially one of the middle-school level." he gave me a sad smile, "Sorry though… I shouldn't have-"_

_"No, no… it's fine really." I smiled up at him, "Thank you Kaiba." I looked over at his brother, "And thank you too-"_

_"-Mokuba." he smiled at me._

_I nodded the best I could, "Mokuba." I repeated._

_"You get some sleep okay. We'll see you in the morning." they shut the door, and darkness quickly filled the room. I shivered, but in a good way, if that's even possible. I stayed up the whole night, fueled with this… feeling. This feeling of… warmth. Feeling of… compassion._

_For once, people didn't view me as a monster, only as a human being._

_That thought helped me sleep through the night peacefully._

+Innocent: So it's true, not everyone thinks of me as a monster.+

+Normal POV+

"Afterwards I met Jou, he heard all about my 'sins', or as much as the people who spread the gossip around knew. When he met me, he told me that someone like you couldn't possibly done such things. He gave me a smile, and after that we became close friends." Yugi explained. Yami clutched onto Yugi tightly, hearing all the things Yugi told him, felt like a dream.

'How could this have happened…' he felt tears prick the corner of his eyes. Yugi caught this, and quickly wiped them away with the back of his hand.

"Why are you crying Yami? I am just that good of a story teller?" Yugi lamely joked, trying to get Yami to crack a smile.

More tears ran down his face, his eyes clouded by his bangs, "I'm so sorry." he whispered into his neck, "I'm so so sorry. Through your whole life, all love's that done to you was bring you pain." Yugi was silent, thinking of all the times he loved someone, and how they ended up dying in the end.

'I'm afraid to love, afraid to fall into that feeling again.' he looked down at his hands, through his eyes he could see the blood on them from his mother's murder. He gripped them tight, then stared up at Yami, 'I'm afraid to love you…'

As if reading his mind, Yami gently kissed his head, the tears dropping one by one on Yugi's spiky head. "Yugi… if I can, I want to be the one; who takes all your fears away. I love you Yugi. I love you. I love you. I love you. I'll repeat it over and over again, I'll wait forever, until you're able to love me too. I don't want you to be afraid, to open up, to have feelings for someone again. I'll be yours forever, I'll never leave your side, never use you, I'll only show you the love you've always deserved."

Yugi stared wide-eyed at the confession, his heart starting beating, his face was flushed, his hands felt clammy, and he felt it hard to breath.

**Do it Kid. Do it now. Hug him, plant a big one on his lips! Just do something!**

Yugi wrapped his arms around Yami's waist and hugged onto him tightly, his body shaking as he let out tears that he'd been holding in. He felt Yami's arms suddenly surround him, and he felt comfort in the warmth. 'This is real… this warmth… I pray I never get it taken away.' he looked up at Yami with tear stained eyes, "Can you really say that… can I really believe in your love?"

Yami nodded, and gently rubbed circles on Yugi's back, "Of course Yugi, my love is forever yours."

* * *

So I'm stopping the chapter here, b/c i can do that :D

Daisuke: I got killed?

Me: No, No, No, YOU didn't get killed, the teacher did.

Daisuke: looks at Yugi- You named me after a dead guy!

Yugi: Hides behind Yami- I didn't think you would take it that badly!

Me: Slaps Daisuke for scaring Yugi- Oi, HotHead, Calm down, there's a reason why you were named after him, but that'll come later. Anywho did i mention.. WE HIT THE 30 MARK IN REVIEWS!

Me & rest of characters: BANZAIII! -THROWS CONFETTI-

Yugi: But more reviews would be good too right Fallen?

Me: Nods- They would be highly appreciated, i really want to know what you guys think of this chapter, because i finally know which direction i'm going to take it!

Yami: What direction is that?

Me: Motions you closer- -whispers-

Yugi: :O!

Me: Shhhhh! Anyway! Reviews fuel my creativity and make me more eager to write ^^. Also, don't forget to check out Love Guided By the Stars, is a YugixYami fanfic, and I'd really like to get some feedback.

Thank you all for reading chapter 9, till we meet again! :D.


	10. Chapter 10

Elloooo!

Thanks to my lovely beta reader tenspeed457 for beta reading this :D.

Everyone cheers-

Now then, welcome to chapter ten of save the innocent :D

Jou: We're in the double digits baby-fist pumps-

Kaiba: About time...

Me: Hey shut up! I was busy.

Kaiba: Busy? More like lazy Fallen.

Me: Pffft, anyway this chapter is a lighter one compared to the others, but don't worry that'll all change soon (:

Yami: What do you have in mind Fallen?

Me: Oh you'll see ;D. Anyway, read review and don't forget to enjoy bc it would suck if you didn't ]:

* * *

+Innocent: At Kaiba's House.+

Jou and Kaiba were still in the living room. The blonde was currently sitting in between Kaiba's legs, with the brunette happily wrapping his arms around his neck. Kaiba placed his head gently on Jou's shoulder, while the blonde sighed in content.

Yami and Yugi had been out for about an hour or so, and the two thought they'd wait patiently for the them to return. However, wasn't exactly known for his patience; so it had taken Kaiba a while to calm Jou down into the state they were in now.

"Oi, Kaiba."

"Hm?" Kaiba looked at the blonde with questioning eyes.

"When did you find out about Yug's… you know?"

Kaiba ran a hand through his hair before answering. "I found out when I was in seventh grade. The rumors about him and what happened spread like wild fire. Everyone treated him like he was a disease; even some of the teachers treated him badly."

"What about you? Were you the same as everyone else?"

Kaiba flicked Jou on the nose playfully. "Of course not Puppy. I'm not one to follow the crowd, let alone listen to rumors."

Jou rubbed his abused nose. "The flick on the nose wasn't necessary Kaiba." he grumbled.

Kaiba snorted a little. "It very well was, but anyway. I never really believed the rumors that were going around, but to say I wasn't curious about the truth would be a lie. Since Kaiba Corp had ties with the police, I did some snooping around and read about the case. I was pretty shocked when I read that Yugi had killed his mother, but after a little more reading, the police report stated that she was killed accidentally in a struggle."

"Then what?"

"Well, I was considering going to the cops, or the school even about this, but sadly the case was dropped meaning the cops wouldn't even look in my direction if I brought it up. Along with the fact that at a seventh grade level it takes a while to kill down a rumor as huge as the one that was circulating around. So I had to let it go, but that didn't mean I was done with Yugi yet. I thought, maybe just maybe, I'd help the poor little guy who was being so wrongly condemned."

"Then…?" Jou cocked his head to the side in an adorable fashion.

"So pushy aren't we?" Kaiba smirked at the pout that appeared on Jou's face. "Then after I left the building, I found Mokuba stooping near something on the ground. I thought something was wrong, so I went over to him. What I didn't expect though was to find Yugi collapsed on the ground, to make matters worse it was raining, so we brought Yugi into the car. When he woke up later, we told him what happened, then I told him about my checking into the case. He seemed happy, so relieved that someone truly cared about him, and didn't want to judge him. Afterwards we became great friends."

"Aww, Kaiba, you really do have a heart in there." he joked. His hand pointed towards Kaiba's chest.

The brunette grabbed Jou's hand and placed a gentle kiss on the inside of his palm. "Of course there's a heart in here, Baka." he looked up, chocolate eyes matching with cobalt eyes. "If there wasn't one I wouldn't be able to love you as much as I do."

Jou's face turned fully red, it wasn't everyday that Kaiba said a comment so… so… romantically cheesy. The blonde buried his face in Kaiba's chest and mumbled into the soft fabric of his shirt.

"What was that Puppy? I didn't quite hear you." Jou could feel the playful smirk on Kaiba's face. Slowly, he raised his head, chocolate brown eyes half-lidded, and cheeks flushed.

"You're so embarrassing." he mumbled softly.

'Damn it… he's just too cute.' Kaiba captured his puppy's warm inviting lips. Sliding his tongue effortlessly into the blonde's mouth, he explored every inch of his mouth, playing with his tongue and enjoying the feeling of his blonde squirming and moaning in his arms.

"Um… ehem." the two broke apart, Jou's face was fully red again while Kaiba maintained his cool. Yugi and Yami were standing at the door way hand in hand. The smaller of the two was quietly giggling, while Yami was full on smirking. "So this is what you two do behind closed doors eh?" he winked at his scowling cousin.

"It's my house Cousin. I'm pretty sure I'm allowed to get frisky when I like to."

"Gah! You pervert, don't say it like that!" he pulled at the ends of his hair in frustration, eyes shut and his blush rapidly spreading.

Kaiba shrugged. "What? It's true." he said nonchalantly. He turned his gaze towards Yugi and Yami who were now sitting on the couch opposite of them, their fingers were still intertwined. "I'm guessing things went alright." he motioned towards their intertwined hands.

"You guessed correctly." Yami smiled down at Yugi, and Yugi gratefully returned it. The walk back from the park was a pleasant one. The two enjoyed each other's company even more than when they first arrived. They shared glances on and off, they were more conscious of the fact that the other person was so close to them. 'Finally, I feel closer to Yugi.' he squeezed the little one's hand tightly before bringing the pale small hand to his lips.

Yugi's face lit on fire as he attempted to cover his face with his bangs. "Y-Yami-kun!" the little one stuttered.

Yami chuckled, "Yes Yugi?" his crimson eyes were dancing with amusement.

The only words Yugi could make out were stutters. From the opposite side of the couch Jou shook his head in defeat. "Is everyone in your family an embarrassing pervert?"

"Not everyone, but my dad had a bit of a furry fetish."

The thought through everyone's mind at the moment was the same: 'So that's where he gets it from.'

"Anyway," Kaiba leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and resting his head on his fists. "what do you two plan to do now? Anything in mind, Cousin?" Yugi's face flushed to the same

. "Well if you think I'm just going to jump straight into Yugi's pants you're wrong." Yami answered. Yugi' face flushed to the same color as Jou's.

"Tch, you couldn't even let that thought cross your mind if I have a say about it!" Jou balled up his fists to show that he was serious.

"Calm down Puppy." he ruffled his blonde's hair. "Yami isn't that much of a barbaric to jump the gun so fast." he raised an eyebrow. "Am I right?"

"Jeez! What do you people take me for!" he looked down at Yugi with pleading crimson eyes. "You don't think I'm a sex maniac that preys on cute little boys right?"

Yugi looked up at him innocently before giving him a thoughtful look. "Wellll…."

"Yugi!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." he giggled and placed his head on Yami's comforting shoulder. "Of course you're not a sex maniac, but you do look like someone who has a pervy side."

Kaiba scoffed and Yami set him a death glare that clearly stated: "Say one more word and you die."

Yami wrapped an arm around Yugi's waist pulling him close. "Well then, we're just going to have to wait and see about my 'pervy side' now won't we." he couldn't help himself, he purred in Yugi's ear and hugged him close. The smaller teen blushed with full force as he looked up at Yami with wide eyes. "I'm kidding Yugi." Yami kissed the top of Yugi's head gingerly. "You won't have to see that side of me for a long time."

"So you admit you are a perv?" Kaiba raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Don't you have, like, I don't know, some corporate business to attend to?" Yami sneered.

"Not at the moment. Besides," he reclined in his couch with a smirk on his lips. "why worry about bringing people down to their knees when I can watch you make a fool out of yourself in front of Yugi?"

Yami growled and looked over at Yugi. "Forgive me for this." he covered the wide-eyed tri-colored hair teen's ears. "Go to Hell Kaiba!" he spat out then released Yugi's ears.

"Yami-kun, what was that for?" Yugi cocked his head to the side, blinking in curiosity.

"Absolutely nothing whatsoever." Yami said with an innocent smile.

"Why I ought to-" Kaiba began but was interrupted by Mokuba.

"Onii-chan! Is Yugi back yet?" the smaller of the Kaiba brothers asked from on top of the stairs.

"I'm right here Mokuba." Yugi called out from the couch.

"Finally!" Mokuba rushed down the stairs and pulled Yugi into a hug. "I thought Yami had kidnapped you and planned to do you know…" Mokuba's face flushed as he made hand gestures to signify what he was talking about.

"Seriously!" Yami let out a sigh of agitation. "Even Mokuba thinks I'm a walking sex maniac?"

Yugi let out a sigh as he ran a hand through his spiky locks. "Wow Yami, maybe you weren't the person I thought you were after all…" he let his voice trail off as he hung his head in playful shame.

"Y-Yugi, it's not what you think at all!" he turned towards Kaiba, Jou and Mokuba. "Help me out here you guys! It's your fault for Yugi thinking this way!" the three just shook their heads in shame as well, while on the inside they were all snickering. Yami frantically looked back and forth between them before hanging his head in defeat. "Yugi… I'm really not like that, please… believe me."

Yugi couldn't help but glance towards the crimson eyed teen who was pleading so desperately. He smiled a little and gave Yami a tight squeeze. "Of course I believe you." he whispered into Yami's ear.

Yami slowly wrapped his arms around Yugi's thin waist. "That makes me happy to hear. You gave in pretty quickly though." he chuckled softly.

"Well I always believed you, Yami, I just felt like playing the part of the little devil as all." Yugi giggled giving a grinning Mokuba a high five.

Yami pouted and looked at the other three, "Please don't tell me you all planned this out?" he begged.

Kaiba shrugged, "Maybe we did. Maybe we didn't." he replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, I'm getting tired." he yawned and looked over at his sleepy puppy, "And it looks like I'm not the only one who agrees, so we'll be going to bed now." then the turned to Mokuba. "You too."

"But Onii-chan!" he started to whine.

"No 'buts', it's bad enough that you stayed up this late. If you don't go to bed now you'll never wake up for school tomorrow morning."

"I'd be okay with that." Mokuba mumbled as he slowly walked up the stairs.

Kaiba laughed and took Jou by the hand leading him upstairs. "Are you guys going to bed?" the brunette asked.

Yugi shook his head. "No, I think we'll stay up a little while longer." he yawned slightly.

"Alright, just don't stay up too late."

"And don't get too hot and bothered, Yami." Jou said with a snicker.

"I hope you fall up the stairs!" Yami barked.

"Ha! Only an idiot would fal-" he tripped going up the last flight of steps.

Kaiba shook his head. "Only you Puppy. Only you." he muttered, and gingerly picked his fallen blonde up.

"That never happened." Jou mumbled as the two entered their room.

"Oh I will never let him live that down." Yami said as the laughter between the two died down. Now there was just silence- comfortable, peaceful silence. The taller of the two couldn't help but feel slightly giddy.

After today things would change for the them; they both knew that. They couldn't go back- all they could do was move forward in their new relationship. Yami smiled down towards Yugi, "So what should we do now?"

Yugi let out another yawn, "I'm actually kind of hungry…"

"Leave it to me." Yami said cheerfully, "I'll make us some dinner, and trust me you'll definitely love my cooking." he winked, kissed Yugi on the forehead, and walked into the kitchen. For some reason Yugi couldn't ignore the knots in his stomach thinking of the incoming meal that was soon to be prepared.

+Innocent: There's nothing between us now. Love can finally grow.+

"Here you go." Yami placed the steaming plate of food in front of Yugi. The small teen looked at the food in front of him with hesitation. He never really saw Yami as the cooking type, but he couldn't just turn his food down now, that would just rude.

Yugi swallowed a small gulp and slowly dug into his food. The sudden mixes of flavors and spices almost knocked the small teen out of his chair. It was much better than Yugi ever expected and he quickly shook his head of guilt from thinking it would taste otherwise. "Yami-kun, this is amazing!" he said in-between bites.

"Thanks." Yami chuckled. "Curry is about the only thing I can make to be truthful."

Yugi looked at him with shocked filled eyes. "You're kidding me." Yami shook his head

"Nope, trust me I've tried cooking other things." he shook his head and laughed, "They didn't turn out too well."

Yugi giggled and continued to eat his wonderful dinner. Once again silence filled in the gap between the two but they didn't mind, they were just happy being with one another. When Yugi was all done, he got up from the table and started to wash the dishes.

"Don't worry about it Yugi." Yami gently took the plate from Yugi's soap covered hand and placed the dish somewhere else.

"But shouldn't I-"

"-Yugi, while you're here you don't have to worry about anything. Just relax, and live. That's what you deserve to do." Yami said gently.

Yugi felt a small weight lift off his shoulder and smiled. "You're right…" he said softly before letting out a yawn. "Yami-kun… I'm kind of tired." he stretched lazily.

"It is getting late…" Yami glanced out at the full moon outside, it's pale light gracing over the two standing by the sink. "Why don't we go to bed?" he asked with a smile.

"T-Together?" Yugi squeaked, a blush creeping his face.

"Well," he placed a thoughtful finger to his chin. "We could sleep on separate sides of the bed so it wouldn't technically be called sleeping together." Yami laughed at the pout that found it's way to his little one's face. "I'll only sleep with you tonight if you want me to, if not I'll sleep in a separate room, or maybe the floor, even." he chuckled at that last thought.

Yugi shook his head, "No, I couldn't let you sleep on the floor." he grabbed onto Yami's strong, tanned hand and gripped it tightly. He looked at the ground, covering the blush on his face with his bangs. "Iwantyoutosleepwithmetonight." he let out in one breath.

Yami cocked his head to the side. "Mind running that by me one more time?"

The little one let out a deep breath. "I want you to sleep with me tonight." the blush on his face increased even more.

The crimson eyed teen tugged on the smaller one's hand and brought him upstairs. Quickly the two pulled of their clothes, grabbed on some random pajamas and slid into bed. Yami's arms wrapped around his little one, burying his head in Yugi's spiky, tri-colored hair. 'He feels so good against me.' Yami thought as he inhaled the scent of his little one.

"Did you just sniff me?" Yugi asked with a giggle.

"Possibly…" Yami dragged out the word and nuzzled his face deeper into Yugi's hair. "Yugi… I love you so much." he whispered for only him to hear.

"Yami…"

"I love the way you make me feel Yugi. You make me feel alive… you make me feel like I have something to live for, because I want to protect you so much. I want to be the reason why you wake up and smile every morning. Yugi… I want to have you all to myself, to be selfish, to never have to let you go to your father or anyone. I want to be with you… always."

The sudden confession made Yugi's heart beat pick up a couple of paces. He didn't expect Yami to just blurt out all his feelings like that, it made him so happy to hear that Yami loved him so much, that he wanted to stay with him forever.

He wrapped his arms around Yami's waist tightly. He wished he had the courage, the strength, to say those three words he knew Yami longed to hear, but he just couldn't do that yet. Something was holding him back… and he felt like a coward for not being able to come out straight with his feelings. "Yami… I-I" he began to say but was cut short by a warm sleek finger touching his rosy pink lips.

"You don't have to say anything Yugi. When you're ready to say it… say it. I'll be happily waiting for you to return my feelings." he placed a kiss on Yugi's forehead. "Let's get some sleep alright?"

Yami slowly drifted off to sleep, Yugi was slowly behind him. He could feel the rise and fall of the crimson eyed boy's chest, and he could hear the almost-silent sound of Yami's breathing.

"Yami… I love you." Yugi whispered into the night before falling asleep.

Yami smiled.

* * *

Awww, that was adorable :D.

Yugi: -blushes madly-

Me: Teeheehee, okay so here's some info for you all. If you think that STI is close to finishing you are horribly wrong. So get that idea out of your head :D. Secondly i have a question for all of you :)

Yami: And that would be...?

Me: What's your ideal or perfect dream date? :) Like how it would start out to how it would end.

Yami: Why would you want to know that?

Me: I have my reasons. Anyway, leave your answers in your reviews and or PM me. All the answers I get will seriously help me out greatly. Thanks for reading :).


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone! Guess what? Fallen's back baby! :D

Kaiba: You were gone?

Me: Drop dead -evil glare-. Anyway, this chapter is lengthy (ten pages when i typed it up). And I made it lengthy, for all of youuu! -points to you all-. Because I love you all. So very much, my lovely readers... who have reviewed and got us passed the 40 mark! 41 REVIEWS GUYS! You know what 41 is close to? 8D

Jou: 50!

Me: And you know what 50 is halfway too? 8D

Everyone: 100! -throws confetti-

Me: Wooot! Okay I won't say much, because you're all dying to read this longgg chapter. But I will say this, last chapter I asked the question: "What is your ideal date. From beginning to end?" I'd really like to hear your guys thoughts on your ideal date :D. Just leave it in your reviews, or PM me about it.

Anyway; Read, Review, and don't forget to Enjoy.

Yugi: Because it would suck if you didn't ): .

* * *

+A couple of months later+

+Yugi's Dream POV.+

_I'm in a field full of Anemones and Yarrows; those were the only two flowers that could be found here. I'm walking slowly, enjoying the sun, watching the clouds, and giggling as the wind brushed my pale cheeks, pushing my golden bangs away from my purple irises. This place was so peaceful, it made me feel at home. _

_If I could just stay here forever… _

_A giggle turned my attention away from my thoughts. The sweet, sweet sounds that I haven't heard in years drew me closer and closer to the middle of the field. A woman was sitting there, hands on her lap, a warm and inviting smile on her face. She accepted the wind's playfulness and laughed as it tickled her. _

_She looked so beautiful, with her long, black midnight hair that flew in the breeze, her eyes closed in happiness and content. Only true beauty can come out when you're so happy and peaceful. Only true beauty could come from my mother. _

_My mother called my name and my feet willingly walked to her until we were face to face. She pulled me on to her lap and kissed the top of my head. My face flushed, and tears prickled the sides of my eyes, but she gingerly wiped them away._

"_Yugi." I heard her whisper. "Yugi. Yugi. Yugi." she said my name over and over again as she placed flowers on my head. _

"_Momma…" I whispered back. Over and over again, I whispered that one word. Over and over again, mom placed a flower on my head. Anemone, Yarrow, Anemone, Yarrow, following the pattern Momma was thinking._

_The flower crown was finished, it tickled and itched me slightly but I wouldn't scratch it. I wanted to feel the realness of it all. It was a little reminder that maybe, just maybe this world was real._

"_But it's not real." Momma said, reading my thoughts._

"_Why not!" I literally screamed, but I lowered my voice seeing the shocked look on her face. "Why can't we stay here… forever? I finally have my Momma back." I said with tears, grasping, holding, struggling to feel the warmth my mother created in this world._

"_Yugi…" she gently massaged my head. "Do you know what day it is today?"_

_What day…?_

_What day was it…?_

"_Thursday." I replied softly._

_My mother giggled and shook her head. "No Yugi. Today's the day." her heart beat stopped, and her touch turned cold. I froze and slowly lifted my head. My mother's usual bright eyes were dulled and the last flower she was holding in her hand slowly descended to the ground. _

_The field of flowers, once full of life and joy, turned brown with death and age. The bright blue sky turned to a dark hazy purple, and the sun was replaced with a full moon. _

_Now I was standing in a cemetery, where only one single tombstone stood. On the stone, it read my mother's name: Haruhi Motou. It had her date of birth, and time of death. On the tombstone were a few simple words: "Life was too short."_

_Her life, was too short. It was cut short, by my accident. _

_The accident on that dreaded day…_

_Today was that dreaded day…_

_The anniversary of her death._

_And my mind had made that beautiful world and turned it desolate._

_Bring my mother back, for only a few moments._

_Just to remind me that today was that day._

_I slumped to the cold wet ground, clutching onto the sides of the tombstone. Screaming at God to bring my mother back. Screamed at Him that I was sorry; sorry I killed her. Sorry for my sins, and wanted them to wash away. I screamed, I prayed, I screamed, and I prayed. _

_Until my mind started to slowly bring me back to reality._

+Innocent: Our dreams are our heart's way of crying out.+

The sun's rays seeped through the curtains, sneaking it's way across the carpeted floor and onto the crisp white sheets of the bed. They crept, and slithered until they reached the closed eyelids of the sleeping boy

The amethyst eyed teen slowly awoke, tears clouding his vision. His hand found their way to his eyes. 'Had I been crying?'

**Morning Sunshine. That dream of yours was pretty…intense.**

_You saw?_

**No offense Kid, but it was pretty hard not too.**

_Oh…_

**So what's wrong? Normally people don't wake up in tears unless something really got to them.**

_Well… today's the day._

**The day? Yugi, you're going to have to be a little more clearer with that description. **

_That dream, it was reminding me that today's the day. My mother's anniversary… the day she died._

**Oh Yugi… (sympathetic smile). Are you planning to visit her grave?**

_I never do…_

**What? Why not! Kid you have to go visit her!**

_I can't. If I do, I'd just be haunted by memories. I'd hear my mother's agonizing voice, screaming at me, condemning me… I can't go through that, Daisuke. _

**Kid, I know it may seem tough now, but this time you're not alone. You have real friends, who'll do anything for you; and you have Yami. Don't tell me you've forgotten all the things he's done for you up till now.**

_I haven't, it's just that…_

**Look Yugi. I'm not trying to force you here, but I really think you should go visit your mom's grave. You know, for closure purposes and what not.**

_Maybe you're right._

**Not Maybe Yugi. You know I'm right. I say, you invite your friends to come visit the grave with you. And before you say anything about "Oh I can't skip school" you very well can.**

_But-!_

**Nope, not listening anymore Yugi. Besides, looks who's waking up. **

"Mmm…" the soft, husky growl broke Yugi from his conversation with Daisuke. He giggled at the sound, and remembered that he was currently in Yami's arms; a spot he was becoming very familiar with. After telling Yami all about his past, the two grew even closer together.

"Yami, if you're awake say so."

"Mmm…I'm awake, I'm awake." drowsy crimson eyes, slowly became bright and focused as he gazed upon the sight of his smiling Yugi. The two couldn't officially say they were dating as of yet, but they most certainly had a thing. A bond, that would continue to grow and strengthen as time progressed.

Yami propped his elbow up, so that his head was resting casually in his hand. His fingers found their way to the tear stained pillow. "Bad dream?" he motioned to the stains. Yugi could only nod for his answer. "Want to talk about it?"

Crimson eyes prodded their way to amethyst eyes. Searching, digging for an answer. Yugi could feel himself melt under Yami's intense gaze, but his smile did him in. By now, Yugi couldn't hide anything from Yami. Even though Yami's own past was still unclear and covered with shadows, that still didn't stop that fact the Yugi felt like an open book in front of him.

"Well, in my dream I saw my mother." he slowly started to say.

Yami gently caressed Yugi's cheek with a frown on his face. "It wasn't anything bad, was it?"

Yugi shook his head and Yami let out a sigh of relief. "It wasn't anything too scary… from what I remember the dream started out with a field of flowers. My mother was in the center of the field, picking flowers and placing them in my hair. She asked me what day it was today."

"Thursday." Yami answered in a matter of fact way. With a smirk, a chuckle escaped his lips.

Yugi let out a giggle at Yami's attempt of a joke. "That's what I said, but she told me I was wrong."

"So it's not Thursday?" Yami's smirk increased.

"Oi, I'm trying to be serious here Yami-kun!" he gently flicked Yami's nose in a playful manner. Causing a whine to escape Yami's lips.

"Ouch… fine, fine; I'll be serious. But, if she didn't mean what day of the week it is. Then what did she mean?"

"She meant that-"

"-Good Morning you stinking love birds!" Without any warning, Jou pushed into the room with all his loudness. He waggled his eyes at the two cuddling teens and winked. "Now now guys, don't get too frisky. We still have to go to school."

"Correction Puppy: We," he pointed to himself, Jou, and Yami, "have to go to school today. Yugi on the other hand doesn't."

"What?" Jou raised an eyebrow and pouted at the brunette. "Why does Yugi get to stay home?"

Kaiba rubbed his temples in agitation, taking deep breathes to calm himself from the growing migraine that was pushing through. He looked towards Yugi, hoping to dump the responsibility on him about telling Jou what the deal was.

Yugi just shook his head and laughed a little. Gently, he pulled himself out of Yami's arms and sat on the edge of the bed, patting the spot beside him for Yami to sit. When the crimson eyed teen was beside him, Yugi intertwined their fingers. "Well, basically…" he took a deep breath, "today's the day my mother died." the room was silent as everyone let the information sink in.

Today was the day, Yugi's mother was killed.

Her death anniversary.

Without another word, Yami pulled Yugi into a hug. Wrapping his long slender arms around the petite's boys waist. Yugi's arms instantly found their way to Yami's neck as he buried his head into it's warm nook. The crimson eyed teen rubbed small gentle circles on Yugi's back. Even though he knew Yugi wouldn't start bursting out into tears right there and then, he still knew Yugi was at least on edge about today.

"Oh Yug." Jou kneeled in front of the bed. A sympathetic look in his eyes. "You go visit her grave today, alright? We'll cover up for you at school."

Yugi slowly shook his head, a shadow covered his face. "No Jou, you won't have to do that. I'm not going to visit her grave." his voice was barely above a whisper. He was just too ashamed to look up at everyone to see their reactions.

Yami tightened his grip around Yugi's waist. "Yugi, you have to go! Visiting you're mother's grave would be a good thing."

"It's not that simple, Yami. I'm afraid that when I go visit her grave, memories will just flood by. I'll have to remember that night over and over again." he hung his head low in shame. "I have no right to visit her."

"Excuse me for my language but, that is a load of bull Yugi." Kaiba stated, his arms crossed across his defined chest as he leaned against the doorframe. "You're mother, would probably want her only son to visit her on a day like this. You should take the chance and go."

"For once, I actually agree with Kaiba." Jou let out a snicker. "If it's too hard for you to go by yourself, we'll all ditch school and go visit with you."

"This time, you won't have to handle it alone." Yami said quietly.

"I agree with Yami!" Of course, Mokuba found this to be the right time to bound into the room and plop down on the floor Indian style. He gave his brother his best smile, knowing very well he was going to get an earful out of him for why he was here.

"Mokuba, what the hell do you think you're doing home? Aren't you supposed to be at school?" Kaiba glared at his giggling little brother. He was just thinking of ways he could punish his little brother for disobeying him and staying home.

"Onii-chan, I'm Yugi's moral support obviously. School would just get in the way of that." Mokuba waved his hand absentmindedly at his fuming brother.

Yugi let out a laugh, "Thanks guys, seriously. Thank you so much." he could feel tears prickle at the sides of his eyes. Just knowing that he had people there for him, to support him, made his heart flutter. A sudden nudge to his side made him look up, a smiling Yami greeted him.

"Anything for you Yugi."

"So when are we gonna go?" Jou was more then ready to head out the door and head out. Kaiba pulled him aside and wrapped two arms around his waist.

"Puppy, tell me what time do you think it is?"

"It's six in the morning, Kaiba." he stated in a matter of fact way.

"Exactly. So now answer this question: why in the world would we go out to the cemetery at six in the morning, in the freezing cold when it would be simpler to just wait till later in the day?"

"But wouldn't it be better to just get it over with now?" the blonde whined.

Kaiba just shook his head at Jou's naivety. Yugi smiled softly at Jou and giggled. "Actually, before we go to the grave I have to stop somewhere. I don't think it's going to be opened this early in the morning so we can probably leave a little later." he looked around the room at everyone else. "Is it okay if we leave by eleven?"

"Of course it's okay!" Mokuba piped in, smiling widely. "We can all get a few more hours of sleep before we have to go."

"Who are you to decide on anything, Mokuba?" Kaiba didn't mean for his words to be harsh - scratch that, he did mean for his words to be harsh. Luckily, Mokuba was used to his brother's cruel tone at times and laughed it off. Planting a chaste kiss on Kaiba's cheek he ran down the hall and to his room before his brother could say anything else.

"Gotta love that Mokuba." Jou stated with a cheeky smile. With two arms clasped around the back of his head, he whistled a happy tune and walked off to his own room knowing fully well that Kaiba would stalk after him ready to let out all his mild frustrations.

Now it was just Yami and Yugi still in their embrace. Nothing was said, silence was evident, but they never minded. The rhythmic heartbeat that Yami produced was already lulling the smaller teen to sleep.

"Sleepy?" Yami asked with a chuckle, slowly stroking Yugi's hair.

"Wouldn't anyone be tired at six in the morning?" Yugi had to hold in the tiny moan that was desperately trying to escape his lip as Yami continued to massage his scalp.

"True, but you'd think someone would be wide awake after all that. I sure am." he said with a gentle smile, but that slowly disappeared. "You're still scared, aren't you." the way Yami said it was more of a statement than a question.

Yugi could only nod. "This nervous, butterfly in my stomach feeling, wont leave me. After all these years, I'm finally going to visit my mother's grave." a sad smile graced his lips, as the feeling of shame dripped onto his words. "Do you know, I never went to her funeral?" his voice was strained, and he couldn't look up to meet Yami. "I was too scared, I never went. What type of son am I? Everyone looked down at me, for not attending, and the fact that it was my involvement in the struggle that got her killed made their opinion of me lesser." He clutched onto the thin fabric of Yami's shirt, burying his head deeply, hoping that it would suffocate his sobs.

He didn't dare to look up, fearing that Yami would just glare down at him in disapproval. Even after all they've been through, Yugi was afraid that with one slip up, Yami would walk out of his life forever. Love can make you a coward that way.

Gentle arms tightened their grip, as warm hands made small circles on the little teen's back. "If I were you, I wouldn't have gone either." he said quietly. "I don't blame you for not going. So if that idea is currently in your head take it out." Yami's voice was playful, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yami, I still don't know… if I can handle going." he knew he was being stubborn, but he just couldn't bring himself to go. Even after everything, he was still scared of visiting his mother's grave.

"Yugi you have to go. You're mother's probably worried sick that you haven't went to visit her grave." he stated calmly, a little bit of laughter hung on his words. "I'm pretty sure even if you never went to her funeral, she'd still appreciate it if you went to her grave. Besides, you're not alone anymore Yugi, you have me, Kaiba, Jou and Mokuba here to be your strength. You need the closure Yugi."

The small teen just sat there, letting all that Yami just said sink in. 'Closure… I need this… and I'm not alone this time…' he looked up at Yami and broke out into a smile. "I guess you're right."

"You guess?" Yami asked with a smirk.

"Alright, maybe you're right." Yugi's face mirrored his smirk.

Yami started to tickle Yugi's side, a devilish grin on his face. "You know for a fact I'm right Yugi Motou. Now admit it!"

"Ah! Ah hahaha! N-No I w-won't!" Yugi protested between squeaks and giggles.

"Yugi, I could tickle you all day. Just thought I'd share that with you."

"Just thought I'd share with _you, _Yami: I-I'll ah hahaha, can keep p-protesting all d-day!"

Yami's tickling grew even more intense as he slid them up and down Yugi's side. The smaller teen felt shivers flow up and down his spine, as his laughter and fit of giggles were slowly starting to turn to gasps and small moans. "Y-Yami…"

"Admit it, Yugi." Yami's voice was a hoarse whisper that pressed against Yugi's neck. In all honesty, this was probably the most intimate the two have ever gotten in months since Yami wanted to take it slow. However, he couldn't help the feelings that were surging through him as his tanned hands slid up and down Yugi's small figure, and he couldn't help the feel of excitement while he watched Yugi thoroughly enjoy the tickle.

"N-Never…" Yugi panted out weakly. "It'll take more than tickling…" his voice dropped off when Yami's warm lips pressed against his own. They shared their first kiss on that bed, it wasn't expected from either of them, but Yami just couldn't hold it in anymore. It was a simple and sweet kiss that took their breathes away, and made their minds go blank.

Yami slowly pulled away, a sheepish smile on his face as he stared down at his little Yugi. Yes, calling him "his little Yugi" was a long shot, but after the night when Yugi told him about his past, and he proclaimed his love for Yugi in bed he heard the little one whisper "I love you". Sure, he never heard Yugi say it to his face outright, but he knew Yugi loved him, just like he loved him and Yami was willing to wait for the day when Yugi would confess his feelings.

"Will you admit it now?" he asked with a sly grin.

Yugi pouted in an adorable fashion and Yami chuckled, placing a sweet kiss on Yugi's forehead.

"I'll take that as a yes."

Yugi's pout increased, but he never protested. Instead he wiggled to the other side of the bed, leaving enough space for Yami to crawl him and lie next to him. The smaller one cuddle up to Yami's side, resting his head on Yami's strong chest, using his heartbeat as a lullaby.

"I'm still nervous." Yugi whispered.

"I know." Yami stroked Yugi's hair.

"But, since you're with me, I'll be okay."

+Innocent: When you're with me, I have the power to do anything+

"Jou, Mokuba hurry up! We don't have all day!" Kaiba screamed at the pair who were still finishing up their breakfast. The group decided to dress a little formal, sporting black dress shirts and dark jeans. They also planned to have left the mansion by eleven, but Mokuba and Jou were caught up in their eating to finish quick enough to meet that goal.

"Do you want us to choke Kaiba?" Jou screamed with a mouth full of food.

"You wouldn't have to worry about choking Puppy if you had eaten quicker." Kaiba replied coolly. "Hurry up or be left behind." he turned his gaze towards Mokuba, "Same goes for you too."

"Gah!" Mokuba managed to scream as he shoved the last bit of pancake into his mouth. He took a quick swig of his Orange Juice and ran outside to meet Yami and Yugi at the car.

"Now let's see you finish up, Puppy." Kaiba said with an almost mocking tone.

"I'm finishing, I'm finishing!" Jou whined as he took his final drink of Orange Juice and got up from the table. He stood beside Kaiba and grabbed his hand, their fingers intertwined. The brunette could feel shivers go up and down his spine as his heartbeat picked up a few paces towards the affectionate gesture. "I can't wait to visit Yugi's mom." Jou said in a rarely quiet whisper, a small and gentle smile on his face.

"Neither can I." Kaiba replied with the same quietness. He placed a quick kiss on Jou's lips and proceeded to drag Jou to the car.

The two piled into the SUV, one of Kaiba's many cars he had around the vicinity, and sat in the back with Mokuba. Yami was at the wheel, and Yugi was at the passenger seat with a list in his hands.

"What's the list for, Yug?" Jou asked out, leaning over the passenger seat.

Yugi looked up and smile, "Just a list of the flowers I need to pick up."

"Gah!" Jou slapped his forehead as he was dragged down by Kaiba. "I should have thought of flowers too!"

"No worries, you can get some while we're at the flower shop." Yugi smiled at his friend, loving how happy go lucky and compassionate Jou could be.

With that, they were off to the flower shop.

+At the flower shop+

"You guys wait here. Me and Yug'll be right back." Jou jumped out of the back of the SUV and stretched lazily, enjoying the fact he was on solid ground and that it was such a beautiful day.

"Correction Puppy, It's 'Yugi and I'." Kaiba smirked at his blushing puppy.

"It's 'Yugi and I'." Jou mocked whined and stomped off into the flower shop behind Yugi.

The little one already knew what flowers he needed, so shopping around for them didn't take too long. Soon enough he was already at the counter ringing them up. Jou on the other hand, took forever to find what flowers he wanted. Scrambling around the store, he picked the flowers that peeked his interest and brought them up to the counter.

"Sorry that took so long." Jou said sheepishly.

"This is why you make a list, Jou." Yugi giggled.

"God Yug, you're starting to sound just like Kaiba." Jou grumbled.

The cashier chuckled, and Yugi perked up at the light British accent. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, but you guys were just too funny."

"Don't worry about it!" Jou stated cheerfully. "We'll just take these if you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all." he rung up Yugi's flowers first, an amused smiled found it's way to the man's lip. He pushed a few strays of snow white locks behind his ears. With a warm smile in his chocolate brown eyes he asked, "A special occasion today?" he motioned toward their dark clothing while he carefully started to place the flowers into a bouquet

"You could say that." Yugi said with a small smile.

"Do you know that flowers have a secret meaning?" the flower clerk started to handle Jou's flowers. "See," he pointed to a piece of paper that was taped to the counter with his free hand, "this is a list of the flowers we have in our store and their meanings. Even though I'd be able to tell you what they mean right off the bat." he chuckled as he made the final touches to Jou's bouquet.

"Really?" Jou's interest was running high, "What do mine mean then?" if Jou had a tail at the moment it would be wagging uncontrollably.

"Well, you have some Edelweiss along with some Fennel. Edelweiss flowers stand for daring and noble courage; while Fennel stands for strength." he gave Jou a small smile, "From the looks of it I'd say you match those characteristics perfectly."

"Oh, heck." Jou grinned sheepishly as a blush crept to his face. He was starting to like this guy. Really who wouldn't love having a stranger throw out compliments to you?

"Would you like me to tell you what yours stand for?" The British clerk tilted his head.

"I already know what mine stand for." Yugi replied quietly. "But thank you anyway."

"Oi, Yugi I wanna know!" Jou whined. "Come on, tell me!"

Before Yugi could answer Mokuba entered the store and told them it was time for them to leave. Yugi gave his thanks to the clerk and walked out clutching his bouquet. Jou however, took a few more minutes to look up the flowers Yugi had carried. Thank God, for the pictures that went with the flower names or Jou would have never found the right ones.

The two Yugi had chosen were named Hyacinth (Purple), Pink Carnations, mixed in with some Lilacs (Mauve), Zinnia (Pink), Blue Salvia, and Day Lillies. With a little more searching he found out the meaning of those six flowers. His eyes widened, before dulling down and shaking a head. A small laugh escaped his lips as he walked out of the store and into the car.

The store clerk felt a little empty after the two left. They were the only ones who had stopped in all day. 'They seemed like nice people too.' he mulled slightly, leaning forward on the counter and blowing his white bangs out of his eyes.

"Oi, Ryou!" a gruffer, more deeper British accent called from the back. "Stop dawdling around and help me out here."

"Haiiii…" Ryou drawled lazily before retreating to the back.

+Innocent: Flowers are our secret little messengers+

+At the cemetery+

After awhile, the group found the grave but not without stopping to find a man cloaked in black standing near the grave. A bouquet of flowers in his hand as he slowly leaned down and placed it on the grave. The thought through everyone's mind except Yugi's were the same: "That can't be Kyouske, could it?"

Yugi just shook his head, and confidently walked over to the grave. The man noticed his presence and looked down, a moment of shock and confusion passed through those purple irises of his before dulling down to a warm smile.

The man gave a small nod and Yugi gave a small nod back, before turning his attention to the grave. The two stood there in peaceful silence, both sorting through their own thoughts.

"You look so much like her." he stated quietly.

"Excuse me?" Yugi looked up with a confused look.

"Sorry I was thinking out loud. It's just that, you remind me so much of her," he let out a laugh, "it's kind of shocking."

"Were you… a friend of hers?" his voice didn't hide his intrigue at all.

A smile crept on his face as he looked longingly at the tombstone. "You could say that." he turned his gaze back to Yugi. "Sorry to keep this meeting short, but I have to go somewhere." he slightly bowed and Yugi returned the gesture. "I hope to meet you again." the man said before leaving the cemetery.

'Who was he…?' Yugi quickly shook his head, and sat down near the grave. He gently placed the flowers on the plotted soil and closed his eyes, thinking over the words he wanted to say.

"Hey Mom, it's me Yugi. How are you? How is it up there in Heaven? I bet you're enjoying it, being able to live in paradise… I'm sorry I haven't visited you in a while. After all these years, I'm really sorry… maybe if I didn't try stop that struggle, you'd still be here with me." he felt tears prickle his eyes, but he mustered up the strength to continue. "I'm such a horrible son, I never even went to your funeral. If I could rewind time, I would have been better to you Mom. I would have saved us from Kyouske sooner… I should have visited you sooner but I was scared Mom. I was so scared to revisit those painful memories. I was so afraid of you condemning me…" he couldn't help it now, his tears were falling one by one, hitting the grave below him. "But I learned it was stupid of me to think that, you were never the type of person to turn your back on someone Mom. You always saw the good, never the bad." he smiled through tears, "I've found friends Mom, great friends. Jou, Kaiba, Mokuba, and Yami. Oh God, Mom… Yami means so much to me, without him or the others, honestly I'd probably just spend this day alone in my room, cowering in the corner fearing that Kyouske would come home for another raping." he let out a ragged sigh, "But because of my friends, I've been saved Mom… I've been saved. I just hope you can forgive me Mama… I hope you can find the will to be proud of your son…' His gaze glanced over to two small little flowers that was poking it's way next to the tombstone. He recognized that flower instantly and smiled. Two small pink and white roses were sprouting in the most unlikely of places.

"Pink and white roses Mom…" he closed his eyes and muttered softly, "_I love you still and always will._" saying some final prayers he got up from the grave and walked over to his friends, feeling so much better than before. Yami pulled Yugi into a hug and kissed his head.

"Things went well?" he whispered.

"They did. I really needed that." he looked at his friends and smiled, "Thank you guys, so much. Without you all, I probably wouldn't have come here today."

"Anything for you, Yugi." Jou said with a smile, and everyone nodded.

"Let's go home." They all departed from the cemetery, Jou being the last one because he forgot to place his flowers for Yugi's mom. Kaiba just shook his head and laughed at his puppy's antics.

From up above, Yugi's mother, Haruhi, had a smile on her face that was so bright and lovely, that neither star nor angel to compare to it.

* * *

Hey guys, that's the end of chapter 11 :D. But if you think Save the Innocent is drawing to a close you are sadly mistaken!

Yami: What? We're not done yet?

Me: Of course not, silly little Yami. There are many loose ties that need to be... tied. And so many characters that need to be brought back. Like the two news one I brought in this chapter! points to Ryou and stranger-

-They both wave-

Me: Actually I had a dream about this fanfic, and in the dream.. oh my. I loved it :D So yeah... I actually know where I'm going to take this fanfic. Also. Flowers were a pretty relevant theme in this chapter. And for the most part I didn't tell you what some of them meant, because well.. you all can go on a little scavenger hunt and find out if your that curious :D.

These are the flowers that I used but didn't tell the meaning: **Anemone, Yarrow, Hyancith (Purple), Blue Salvia, Day Lily, Lilac (Mauve), Pink Carnation, and Pink Zinnia. **Have fun :D, and don't forget to review!


	12. Chapter 12

Hey Guys! Welcome to Chapter 12 :D And thank you to tenspeed457 for being an awesomeee beta :D

Everyone: Throws confetti and cheers-

Me: Alrighty, so here's how things are gonna go down. -gets all serious- This is part ONE of a TWO part date!

Yami: For all you folks who have just been confused, here's what she means: The chapter was getting to long so she broke it in half.

Me: Thank you Yami for reitterating that. :| Anyway, for the second part, (Chapter 13) I'm going to use a mixture of all the date ideas that people have sent in, then put them in like, a special mention or something (: .

Yugi: Thank you to everyone who has given Fallen "their ideal dates".

Me: Without you guys there would be no chapter 13! -says all dramatically- ahaha, alrighty i'm done babbling.

Read, Review, and don't forget to Enjoy.

Jou: B/c wouldn't it suck if you didnt?

* * *

+Innocent: We just keep growing stronger+

+A couple of days later+

Yami sat at the kitchen table with a ridiculous amount of bed head. An empty cup of tea was placed on the table along with a whole sprawl of papers. He searched and sifted through each one, balling them up and throwing them on the ground in frustration. Yami had to hurry, he didn't have enough time left to formulate a plan.

If he wanted to be successful today… he needed a plan. A very good plan.

He read through another sheet of paper and outwardly sighed in frustration. Balling the sheet, he tossed it at the doorway, where Kaiba just happened to walk in, holding a cup of coffee.

"Morning to you too, Cousin." he gracefully walked over to the coffee machine, dodging the paper balls on the floor and refilling his cup. "You better clean these up when you're done."

Yami mumbled something along the lines of: "Yeah, yeah, yeah" and went back to his reading. Kaiba just shook his head and sat down on the opposite side of Yami. He plucked the paper out of his cousin's hand, earning a growl from the crimson eyed teen.

"What's this?" he raised an eyebrow and read down the list.

_First off, we go to a movie._

_Then, I'll take him for ice-cream._

_Next, a nice walk through the par-_

After that, the rest was pretty much scribbled out. He looked over at his blushing cousin and raised his eyebrow again. He couldn't hide the amusement that was showing so plainly on his face. "Planning a date, are we?" If he was anybody else, he'd probably add a waggle to the eyebrows or a wink to finish off the sentence, but he wasn't anybody else. So he just stuck to his ever-popular smirk.

Yami just ran his hand through his hair and sighed in defeat. He slumped in his chair and grabbed the empty cup. He groaned when he found it was empty, but was too lazy and stressed out to get up and refill it. Instead, he turned his cousin with almost pitiful eyes. "Yeah. I wanted to take Yugi out to day, just to take his mind off things and give him good time." he pointed to the crumpled up balls of paper. "As you can see, my ideas aren't really going so well." he finished with a laugh.

Kaiba shook his head, crumpled the paper, then threw it to the floor. "Your ideas did, excuse my language, suck." he finished off with a smile.

"Oh! Like you could do any better?" Yami challenged.

"Actually," he took a sip of his coffee and crossed one leg over the other. "I can. How do you think I got my Puppy to fall head of heels for me?"

"I always thought you bought him, or used your influence and power to force him to be yours." he smiled at the scowl that quickly found its way onto his Cousin's face. "I'm kidding. I'm kidding!" he laughed hoping it would ease some of his cousin's tension.

"If it weren't for the fact that you currently have a thing now with Yugi, I'd kill you." Yami fully smiled at this and even Kaiba let out a chuckle. "Back to the matter at hand though. You want to take Yugi out for a date, but a simple: 'let's go to the movies' won't cut it. You have to really go above and beyond here."

"But everything I think of sounds too… plain. I know Yugi wouldn't mind where I took him, as long as me and him have a great time but… I just want to make things-"

"-Special?" Kaiba added in and Yami nodded. "Well I can help you with that." he fished out his cell phone and quickly dialed some numbers. Yami gave him a puzzle look and was about to speak but Kaiba shushed him. "Jones, it's me." his tone turned strict and formal. He didn't even bother to add in a hello! "No. Nothing's wrong." Pause. "I called because I need you to do something for me, ASAP." Another Pause. Kaiba got up from his chair and exited the kitchen for more privacy. He knew Yami would be wondering what the hell he was thinking walking out of the kitchen like that, but Kaiba wanted to keep Yami in suspense.

One because it would help the situation better, and two, he'd just wanted to see his cousin freak out.

He leaned against the wall and nodded in response to what the man was saying; fully aware that Jones wouldn't be able to see it. "Get right on it." Pause. "Did you really just ask me that?" he shook his head. "Jones, don't start questioning me. Just do it." he snapped his phone shut and rubbed his temples, a sigh threatened to escape his lips. 'When you ask someone to do something, you expect them to do it. No questions asked.' Kaiba thought.

Walking back to the kitchen, he faced Yami's confused expression. "Kaiba, what the Hell-"

"-You should be saying 'thank you' right now. Not using swear words in my face." Kaiba sat down at the table and bent over. Picking up one of the many scattered paper balls on the ground. He plucked the pencil Yami was currently holding and quickly wrote something down on the paper. "Read this over." he commanded and gave the wrinkled paper to Yami.

The crimson eyed teen read down the list and couldn't hold back the smile that found it's way to his lips. He looked up at Kaiba and just shook his head laughing. "What would I do without you?"

"That's hard to say." Kaiba answered with a smug look. "Just make sure you follow that list down to the letter, alright?"

"Yes, _Mother_." Yami answered with a chuckle. He couldn't contain his excitement, the list Kaiba had given him was the perfect date schedule! Yami was absolutely positive that Yugi would enjoy today to the fullest. Instead of worrying about the past, Yami was hoping Yugi could have fun today, and just leave all his troubles behind.

Just then, Yugi padded across the floor wearing only an over sized t-shirt that brushed past his knees, and shorts. You couldn't see the shorts though because the t-shirt was too long. Yami couldn't take his eyes of Yugi as the little one made his way over to the table with a bright smile on his face, and his sketchbook clutched to his chest.

"Morning, Yami-kun." he placed a light kiss on Yami's cheek before walking over to cupboard for his cereal. "You're up early. So are you Kaiba" he added while he started to fish for the bowl. Of course, the bowl was on the highest cupboard and Yugi couldn't reach it. Yami smiled despite himself at the view of Yugi on his tip-toes trying to reach the cupboard.

"Here." Yami walked over and grabbed the bowl for Yugi, placing it on the counter. Yugi blushed and quietly said thank you. Yami just smiled and ruffled Yugi's spiky tri-colored locks. His eyes landed on Yugi's sketchbook, peaking his interest. "Were you drawing?"

"Hn." he nodded. "This image just came into my head while I was sleeping, so I had to draw it." he looked up to Yami with a smile.

"Mind if I take a look?" Yami asked gently.

"Actually…" he started to reply shyly. "I don't want you looking at it… not yet anyways. It's not finished but when it is I'll show it to you."

"I can't wait to see it." Yami placed a small, sweet kiss on Yugi's forehead.

"Speaking of art," Kaiba sipped his coffee, turning his gaze towards Yugi. "The school festival is coming up right?" Yugi nodded, "I heard your artwork is going to be on exhibition."

"Is that true?" Yami couldn't hold in his excitement or surprise. He'd seen Yugi's artwork before and he couldn't put it into words because it was just so intense, you couldn't find words to describe it. When he saw those pictures, he felt raw emotion. The way the lines were drawn, how dark or how light, how deep the shading was, all brought out the emotions Yugi was conveying in his drawings. Having those drawings being shown on exhibition would definitely get the little artist known.

Yugi nodded, and couldn't hold in his delight either. After all the events that had happened, he never really got the chance to just sit down and draw, that's why when he got that image in his head this morning he quickly grabbed his sketchbook and started drawing. Yugi was pretty nervous too, he never really had anyone else other than Yami view his sketchbook seriously. His father had seen it once… but that didn't turn out very well.

When his sempai in his art club suddenly asked him if they could exhibition his artwork, Yugi was hesitant to reply at first, but slowly he found the courage to accept the offer. So now he had to create ten new drawings before the festival.

Yawning slightly he sat down, Yami shortly following after, at the table and ate his cereal. Formulating ideas in his head for what to draw next.

"-Yugi!" Yami cried out, gently poking Yugi's forehead. "I know that cereal tastes good, but don't get too lost in it's flavor." he laughed at his lame joke.

Yugi pouted and scooped another spoonful into his mouth. "So what if I like to savor my Cinnamon Toast Crunch?" he asked wagged his spoon at Yami, daring him to say something else.

Yami raised his hands in surrender and quietly laughed as he pulled up a chair and sat next to Yugi. Kaiba, being the intuitive person that he is, got up from the table and headed out the kitchen. A slight hand raise and a grunt was all he needed to inform them he was gone.

"Yugi," Yami started to play with Yugi's golden locks. Enjoying how soft and addicting they were to the touch.

"Hm?" Yugi asked with a mouth full of cereal and a blush on his face from the gesture.

"I was wondering, if you'd like to spend the day with me." he smiled brightly at the blush on Yugi's face that couldn't stop growing. "Just me and you today, enjoying each other's company."

"A-Are you asking me o-on a d-date?" Yugi stuttered. He would have never thought Yami would be asking him out to day with that warm, bright, heartwarming smile on his face. Yugi's heart started to flutter as his mind drifted off to all the things the two were going to do today.

Yami gently caressed Yugi's cheek and smiled. Sometimes Yugi was just too cute for his own good. "If you'd like to think of it as that, then yes. It's a date."

"What did you have in mind?" Yugi finished off his last scoop of cereal and looked up at Yami with expectant eyes.

He winked and grasped Yugi's hands. "That's a surprise."

Yugi pouted, hoping that Yami would have just told him already. He never liked to be kept in suspense, but just this once he decided to play along. "Fine, I'll let it be a surprise. At least tell me when we're going to head out."

"Around eleven." Yami answered. Yugi looked up at the clock, it was already nine-thirty.

'An hour and thirty minutes to get ready.' he inwardly sighed, 'That's not enough time!' then he remembered he had a little Mokuba he could used. A smirk appeared on his face. "Eleven o'clock. Sounds good to me." he got up from the table, cleared his bowl, then walked over to Yami. Small arms found their way around Yami's waist and gave him a tight squeeze. "I can't wait for our date." he whispered.

Yami placed chin on top of Yugi's head and nuzzled him gently. 'His hair smells amazing, even without shampoo.' he thought to himself, and gave Yugi a tight squeeze. "Neither can I," he whispered just as soft.

Yugi pulled back so that they were an arm's length apart. His amethyst eyes found their way to Yami's tanned lips. Yugi's mind traveled back to their kiss, their first kiss, that they shared only a couple of days ago. He still remembered the sensation of Yami's warm lips pressing against his own. Yugi never expected it to happen, but when it did it send warm electric shivers up and down his spine, and made his heartbeat go crazy.

He never had an experience like that when being tortured by his father. Never. The only feeling he ever had was the feeling of fear and disgust.

The feeling with Yami, was joy and wanting. He wanted more of that wonderful feeling that occurred when their two lips touched.

Their faces leaned closer to each other, their breathing came out slow and raggedy, their heartbeats started to pick up. The distance started to close, their lips almost touched.

But of course, their almost kiss was broken by a overly obnoxious, yawning blonde. "Morning~!" he sang as he walked into the kitchen, hand up his shirt, scratching his belly absentmindedly. His bed head was even worse then the two, slightly pissed off, couples' were. He yawned again and grabbed a bowl and box of cereal. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked innocently.

"Jou, I could strangle you right now." Yami didn't try to hide his irritation. He was just a breath away from capturing Yugi's warm inviting lips and the blonde just had to walk in! 'If he wasn't Yugi's best friend or Kaiba's boyfriend, I'd kill him.' he thought venomously; shooting a death glare towards the blonde.

Oblivious to the extreme death glare he was getting, Jou grabbed a chair and sat down at the table. Shoveling spoonful after spoonful of cereal into his mouth. "Yeah, yeah, yeah." he said through a mouthful of food. "Like I haven't heard that one before." he turned towards Yugi who was absentmindedly playing with his bangs in an attempt to hide his blush. "Yug, I got a question for yah."

"Ask away, Jou." Yugi said politely, already letting go of the fact that Jou walked in on their almost kiss.

"That man from the other day, dressed in all back, who was he? Someone you know?"

Yugi shook his head. In reality, he had no idea who that man was, or what he was doing there. Although the man seemed to know exactly who he was. _You look just like her. _The words rang through Yugi's head, 'Just who is he…' chewing his bottom lip in thought.

"Yugi…?" Yami asked in concern.

"I-It's nothing." Yugi stammered. He slowly broke from their embrace and grabbed his sketchbook from the table. "I'm going to take a shower and get ready." he turned to Yami. "Meet you in the living room?"

"Sounds good to me." with a final kiss on the forehead from Yami, Yugi raced upstairs.

Jou turned to Yami with a confused look and cereal in his mouth. "What is he getting ready for?"

"Our date." Yami replied with a smirk.

Jou broke out into a smile and shook his head with laughter. "Show him a good time, alright?"

+Upstairs+

"Mokuba!" Yugi pounced on the bed on top of Mokuba's sleeping form, smiling wildly at Mokuba's freaked out expression.

"Yugi, what the heck!" he pushed the smiling teen off of him and glared. Mokuba is not what you would call a morning person. Wake him up before noon and you'd have one pissed off preteen on your hands. "Why did you jump on me!"

"It was the only way to get you to wake up." he pouted even though on the inside he was laughing. Mokuba was really something when he woke up. His hair, that normally resembled a lion's mane, stuck out in all directions (more than usual, at any rate); his onyx eyes were droopy and clouded with sleep, and there was an line of drool trailing down his chin. "Besides, I have a favor to ask of you."

"And that would be?" he sat up from the bed and yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"I need an outfit." Yugi asked with a blush.

"Forrr…?" Mokuba drawled out, the sleep slowly drifting away.

"A date…" Yugi mumbled, face completely flushed and eyes staring at the sheets.

"Yami asked you on a date?" Mokuba jumped out of bed and looked at Yugi with eager eyes. "Where are you guys going? What time are you leaving?" he let out a gasp. "What are you wearing!"

Yugi laughed at Mokuba's excitement and waved his hand to calm him down. "I have no idea where we're going, we're leaving by eleven, and the whole outfit situation… I was hoping you would help me with that." he answered sheepishly.

"Of course!" Mokuba grabbed Yugi by the arm and dragged him to the closet. "Now we don't know what Yami has in plan, so we shouldn't dress you up too fancy, but too casual would be a turn off." he sifted through his closet, examining clothes after clothes and tossing them on the bed. "We need something that brings out your eyes, and matches your complexion."

"Wow Mokuba, forget about Kaiba Corp, you could run your own fashion empire one day." Yugi giggled at his own joke.

Mokuba folded his arms and smirked at Yugi. "Nah, fashion is just a hobby for me. I wouldn't take it on seriously." he waved his hand absentmindedly and went back to his closet. "Purple… or blue…" he held up two shirts against Yugi's chest. One was a purple and black striped long sleeved shirt, and another one was a dark navy blue. "Hm… what do you think?"

Yugi scratched his thin in thought, examining himself in the full length mirror. He must definitely liked the purple and black because they kind of match his eyes. The navy blue though really brought out his complexion... "Navy blue." Yugi answered after some thought.

"Oh I have the perfect outfit to go with that shirt!" he handed Yugi the shirt and went back to rummaging in the closet. He pulled out a pair of dark skinny jeans, a black studded belt, a small chocker necklace with a cross at the end, black high tops, and some black wristbands.

'When Mokuba said he had the perfect outfit… he wasn't kidding.' Yugi thought with nervous laughter just as Mokuba was handing him the rest of his outfit.

"Now go use my shower, and afterwards try on the outfit. I wanna see my work when you're down." he pushed Yugi towards the bathroom and locked the door. Eyes beaming with anticipation. He could hear the water running from the shower, and his nervousness was keeping him on edge. He leaned against the wall, arms folded, drumming his fingers along his arms. When the water stopped he pushed himself off the wall and waited.

Yugi walked out, and Mokuba's jaw literally dropped to the ground. The outfit was a success! The jeans hugged him just the right way, a little off the hips but enough to give him that appeal. The dark blue shirt did a much better job than Mokuba would have thought of bringing out both Yugi's eyes and complexion. The accessories just made the outfit even better.

"Yugi…" Mokuba said after moments of admiration. "you look hot!"

Yugi blushed furiously. "D-Do I really?"

"Would I lie to you!" he brought Yugi to the full length mirror. "Check it out for yourself."

Yugi had to admit… when he looked in the mirror, he did look pretty good. "Mokuba," he turned to his friend and gave him a tight squeeze. "You're a amazing."

He returned the gesture. "I know."

+In the living room+

Yami stood near the door eagerly awaiting Yugi to walk down those steps. He was dying to know what Yugi was planning to wear. 'Must be something from Mokuba's closet he's planning to wear.' he thought to himself. Yami looked down at his out outfit. He was wearing light blue destroyed jeans, and a red long sleeved, v-neck t-shirt that clung onto him nicely. Shoe-wise he was wearing black trainers, and accessory-wise he was wearing a gold chain and a black wristband.

He peered up at the clock, it was nearly eleven, and was getting antsy. 'We live in the same house for God's sake, Yami! Calm down.' he reminded himself. Just then Yugi walked down the stairs, taking Yami's breath away. 'Good God, he looks so… attractive.' he resisted the urge to run up the stairs, grab Yugi, carry him to their room and devour him.

Yami smiled as Yugi found his place beside him, intertwining their hands. "You look amazing, Yugi." he placed a sweet kiss on Yugi's cheek. "All the boys will be jealous." he joked lightly.

Yugi shook his head and squeezed Yami's hands. "You look just as amazing, Yami; but I don't think I'll be the only one causing jealousy to start today."

Yami chuckled, and grabbed both their coats. Yugi slid on his light gray jacket and relished at the warmth it produced as the two hit the brisk, cold air. Outside waiting for them was a black convertible with the hood up. Yami walked over to the passenger seat and opened the door. "After you." he stated politely.

"Oh why thank you, Yami." Yugi slid into the seat while Yami slid into the drivers seat. Slipping on the seatbelts and starting up the car, Yami drove out of the estate and into the streets. "So where are we going?"

Yami peered at Yugi from the corner of his eyes and smiled. "You'll see."

+Later On.+

"Welcome to the Blues Eyes Café, may I take your order?" The waiter asked politely to the couple. The two had reached the café that immediately Yugi recognized was owned by Kaiba. The name Blue Eyes pretty much gave it away, along with the humongous dragon statue that stood outside near the café. Normally you'd think something like that would scare people off rather than attract them, but I guess it was working because the place was moderately full.

Yugi scanned down the menu at the café's many desserts. 'There's just too many to choose from. They all look delicious.' Yugi could feel himself drool imagining all the different cakes and pastries he could choose from. He had such the sweet tooth.

"Hmm… I'll take the Chocolate Mousse Pie and a cup of your Hot Chocolate with a mix of raspberries." he handed the menu back to the water and looked over towards Yugi, who was still having a hard time deciding. "Find anything you want yet, Yugi?"

"Umm…" he looked up towards the waiter. "Can I have the Strawberry Shortcake with extra strawberries on top, and as for a drink… could I have a cup of your Vanilla Mocha with extra whip cream." his face was so childlike and innocent the waiter could help but laugh a little as he wrote down his order. He took the menu and walked over to the chef.

"You know, I always that you would be the type of person with a sweet tooth." Yugi laughed at Yugi's childlike expression.

He pouted and stuck out his tongue. "You can't blame me. Sweets are really good."

"I won't complain with you on that." the waiter brought over their food, and Yugi dug in head first. Man, did he love those strawberries. One bite, and those juicy flavors ran into his mouth causing the little one to moan in bliss. "Got to hand it to Kaiba, the food isn't too bad."

Yugi giggled and smiled at Yami, a little bit of whip cream was on his nose. "Thank you so much for taking me out today, Yami-kun." Yugi really did love spending time with Yami, he loved seeing that look of compassion and affection that was seen in those crimson eyes. He loved the sweet and gentle kisses Yami would place on either his forehead or his cheek. And he loved when their fingers intertwined and Yami whispered his name softly into his ears.

"Anytime, Yugi. I felt like you needed this day out. Just to take all your troubles away you know. I've also been planning on taking you out for awhile." he added with a slight blush. "Just that, with everything that happened, it didn't really seem like there would be time for a date."

"Well I'm glad we're able to do this now, Yami-kun."

Yami leaned in and gently brushed the whip cream off from Yugi's nose. Licking it slowly off his thumb. "You can drop the -kun, Yugi." he smiled softly at Yugi's blushing face. "It shows that we've gotten closer. Come on, try it."

"Y-Yami." he stuttered and blushed furiously. It felt weird, but in a good way, to say Yami's name without the suffix. He wanted to say the name over and over again, but he stuck to doing that in his mind.

"Just like that." Yami smiled and the two finished off their cakes. The waiter came along, and they asked for the bill but the waiter simply shook his head and said it was on the house. 'Thank you, Kaiba.' Yami inwardly said. Not like he wouldn't have paid for the meal anyway, but the prices were more expensive then he planned them out to be. "Well, Yugi. Ready for the next part of our date?"

"Hn!" Yugi nodded enthusiastically.

From outside the café, Anzu and another man were walking down the street. The man was currently chatting to the brunette, but her mind was occupied on other things to care. From the corner of her eye, she spotted that familiar spiky tri-colored hair and immediately thought it was Yugi. Her grip on her handbag tightened, but as the two got closer, she noticed that tan Egyptian skin, and bright crimson eyes.

"Yami." she purred. Anzu was so tempted to just walk into the café and talk to him. Yes, she still had an infatuation with him. Why wouldn't she? To her, Yami was her soul mate and they were destined to be together.

"No, Babe. The name's Duke, not Yami. Say it with me now, Duke." he lamely joked, twirling the dice at the end of his earring.

"What?… No you idiot." she hissed. "I wasn't referring to you." she broke their arms apart and walked over to the café window, leaning in closer to get a better look. She gasped, then nearly growled when she found that Yugi was there, sitting across from Yami, smiling and chatting away happily. 'What the fuck! Why is he always so damned happy! That little nuisance doesn't deserve to smile!'

She used all her willpower not to stomp into the café and curse Yugi out. Instead, she walked over back to Duke and linked their arms. Her face was set in a scowl, and Duke pouted, lifting her face gently so that their eyes met.

"What's eating at you, Babe?"

"Nothing." she slapped his hand away and proceeded to drag him down the street. Just then, an idea hit her, that caused her to smile in a devilish way. "Duke?" she sang in a sickly sweet way. The emerald eyed man looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Do you mind taking me to that place, where you get all your 'medicines'." she said medicines with air quotes.

Duke's face turned into a smirk as he winked. "Oh you wanna use those tonight, Babe."

"Hn!" she nodded enthusiastically. "I also want to use some so I can show it off to my friends. They're always telling me they want a little spark in their sex lives." she was lying through her teeth, and he was eating up every word.

"Fine with me." he shrugged it off, and placed his arms around her shoulder. For added affect she leaned into the crook of his shoulder and sighed, pretending to enjoy the warmth. 'I'll let you be happy for now, Yugi because when I'm done with you, you'd wish you never got in the way of my plans.' the two turned the corner. At that moment, Yami and Yugi stepped out not even aware that Anzu was standing in that very same stop just a few seconds before.

"Ready?" Yami wrapped an arm around Yugi's shoulder and Yugi cuddled into the warmth. Enjoying it fully and wholeheartedly.

"Ready." Yugi answered, his arm founding his way to the small of Yami's back. The two headed off into the direction of the Ferris Wheel.

* * *

Guess who's back. Back again. Anzu's back. Tell a friend (Had a little "Without Yugi" moment... if you know what I'm talking about you're probably laughing right now :D) Anyway, for all of you who thought "Yes! No more Anzu!" -fist pumps- then read this and was like,"WTF?" then I'm sorry she had to be brought back D:, but only for a little while (:

Yugi: Next chapter is part two of our date!

Yami: If any of you still want to share your "Ideal Date" don't hesitate to share it in a review -sexy smile-

Me: Yes! Use that sex appeal, Yami!

Kaiba: I have places to be so let's wrap this up. You guys no the deal, Review, and we all hope you've enjoyed Chapter 12.

Me: Stick up your butt much, Kaiba? ;D

Kaiba: ...

Me: ALRIGHTY GUYS! BUH BYE! (: -runs away-


	13. Chapter 13

Hey everyone! Here's chapter 13 for all of you with the second part of the date. Like I said last chapter (I think o.o); I used the date ideas from everyone and mixed them together into one whole chapter: Chaper 13 ;D. So I'm going to put up an Honarable Mention for you guys who shared your ideas.

Yugi: Thank you all very much!

Me: Without you guys there would be no Chapter 13, that and the fact it would probably suck with my ideas for a date X_X.

**Honorable Mention:**

**Jillkun-ness and her dream date of being at an amusement park till nighttime to see the stars.**

**crazychik410 and her ideal dream date of chasing eachother, pointing out things ( stars not clouds sorry D: ).**

**tenspeed457 (MY AWESOME KICKASS BETA! hahaha :D) and her dream date of going to the zoo.**

**Minerva of The Artic Mountain and her deam date of tracing eachothers faces with rosebuds.**

Thank you all once again. I really appreciated the ideas!

WARNING: I mightttt have went a little hyphon crazy in this chapter... o.o... hyphon fetish maybe? :D Am I even spelling hyphon right? XP. Gah anyway! Read, Review, and don't forget to Enjoy! B/c wouldn't it suck if you didn't enjoy?

* * *

+Innocent: I know it's hard to tell, but I love you+

It was late in the afternoon -five o'clock if you wanted an exact time - and Jou was still in his pajamas. Who could blame him? It was a lazy Saturday afternoon, he didn't feel like doing his homework, and well hell he just felt like being a lazy bum today.

He stretched his long frame on he couch, yawning idly as he searched for the remote. He cheered silently when he found it and immediately turned on the TV flipping through the various channels.

"You're still in your pajamas, Puppy?" Kaiba chuckled when he found the sight of his adorable lover lying on the couch. His hand was up his shirt revealing a good amount of skin, and his chocolate brown eyes were immersed in whatever the TV was showing.

"Hn." Jou gave a bland reply, too caught up with his show.

The brunette just shook his head at how simple his Puppy could be at times. He sat down beside Jou and pulled him into a hug. Jou's back barely brushed against Kaiba's own chest but even at the slight contact, Kaiba could feel electric tingles flow up and down his spine.

It was amazing what his Puppy could do to him without even trying.

"Jou…" Kaiba breathed his name Jou's neck. Tiny blonde hairs stood on end while goose bumps spread across the skin at the gesture. He smirked, Jou was so easily flushed, he could see his embarrassment flaring on his skin. 'He's too cute for his own good.' Kaiba thought before placing a small kiss at the reddening neck..

"Kaiba, what the fuck!" Jou growled, yet he couldn't deny the wanting of Kaiba's lips on his own pair. But, Jou was far too stubborn to admit that right off the bat. No worries though since Kaiba was always up for a challenge. "Do you not see that I'm watching TV right now?"

"Obviously I see that, Puppy." the kisses progressed higher and higher up Jou's neck. His lips were up to Jou's ear now. Kaiba chuckled as the blonde shivered when his breath touched Jou's skin. Smiling devilishly, he let his tongue slip into Jou's earlobe and gave it a gentle nip.

"Ah!" Jou visibly shivered at the nip to the ear. His grip on the remote started to shake as Kaiba's hand snaked up his shirt to grasp a nipple. "P-Pervert," he said in between pants. Jou could never last long when Kaiba decided to go into full pervert mode.

"Am I really?" he licked the tantalizing ear then dragged his tongue down Jou's cheek until his tongue touched the corner of the blonde's lips. Kaiba couldn't hold in his excitement, he wanted to plunge his wet appendage into the blonde's mouth, push him down on the couch, then make sweet love to him. But oh no, he wanted to tease and torture the blonde as much as possible.

Sadistic? Maybe. Fun? Very.

His tongue ran along Jou's bottom lip causing shivers to flow down both their spines. Jou couldn't take it anymore, he pulled Kaiba by the hair down to his lips and the two crashed. They hungrily kissed, tongue twirling against tongue. Sucking, biting, moaning. Their hands groped and grabbed trying to pull off the clothes that were so annoyingly in their way.

"Onii-chan!" Mokuba dashed down the stairs, catching the sight of the brunette's head on the couch. He ran over and almost stopped in his tracks at the sight of his brother practically making love to Jou on the couch. It wasn't like he had a thing against the two's relationship, it was just that he was way too young, and way too innocent to be seeing any of this right now.

'Never again will, I sit on that couch.' he thought with a shudder as he cleared his throat.

Kaiba looked up lazily with a bored expression. If it wasn't for the fact that Mokuba was his own flesh and blood, he might have severely barked at him for stopping him in the middle of his making love with Jou. "Yes?" he was the fighting off the urge to pounce back on his dazed lover.

"Umm… what time do Yugi and Yami plan to be back? I wanted to start making dinner." Mokuba asked meekly, the blush spreading across his face.

Kaiba just shrugged his shoulders, already brushing off the question, and attacked his lust filled blonde. Mokuba made a dash upstairs before he saw things he knew he'd never forget.

+Innocent: Just me and you today.+

"Yami! Look at those two!" Yugi pulled Yami along as they ran their way through the zoo in Kaiba Land. It was based off the idea of "Noah's Ark" where all the animals were grouped in pairs. It was supposed to be something romantic to attract more people to the park. Looks like it was doing it's job, because Yugi was totally hooked on the tons of animals that were scattered along the park.

The two stood by the railing, peering down at the panda exhibit where two cute and cuddly baby pandas were snuggling up against one another; surrounded by stalks of bamboo. Yugi couldn't stop the smile that found its way to his lips. Even animals had a chance of love, to find their other halves; their soul mates. The tri-colored teen looked up at Yami who seemed to be enjoying the exhibit just as much as he was.

"You know, panda's are my favorite animals." Yami suddenly stated out of the blue. It wasn't like a question, it was more like he was just throwing that bit of information out into the air. He looked at Yugi's puzzled expression and smiled. "My parents would take me on yearly visits to Japan," he started to explain, "whenever we'd go I'd beg them to take me to the zoo, _just _so I could see the Panda exhibit." he laughed a little then turned his gaze back to the Pandas with a faraway look in his eyes.

Yugi giggled and poked Yami's side, "I always knew you had a cute side to you." he laughed at the pout that appeared on Yami's face. "I never would have guessed you weren't Japanese though." he cocked his head to the side, "Where are you from then?"

The crimson eyed teen peered into Yugi's bright and questioning amethyst eyes. His background was always a touchy subject and he never really went around telling people about it. But Yugi was different, he knew that. The little one in front of him had revealed every secret, every dark and hidden past to Yami without any distrust.

Wasn't it Yami's turn to do the same thing?

He sighed a little, then turned so that his back was touching the railing and his arms were propped on either side. Yami turned to Yugi with a thoughtful glaze, "I'm from Egypt. Born and raised." he began.

Yugi gasped. "You're kidding!" Yami shook his head. "That's so amazing! I've always wanted to visit Egypt. You're so lucky, Yami." he grinned brightly.

Despite Yugi's overall happiness, Yami couldn't help but scoff slightly. "Like you wouldn't believe." he stated sarcastically but quickly regretted it when he saw Yugi's grin turn into a pout.

"What? You don't like being Egyptian?"

"It's not that. It's just," Yami sighed. He honestly had no idea where to start with his story. It was the type of tale that once you started telling a person, you'd have to tell them the whole thing -from beginning to end- for them to completely understand it.

"If it's too difficult to tell me, you don't have to." Yugi whispered. Wrapping his small arms around Yami's waist, he pulled him into a warm embrace.

How could Yami _not _tell him now when Yugi had just done that?

The crimson eyed teen pushed Yugi to arms length and shook his head briskly. Without another word, Yami gently lead Yugi to a nearby bench and placed the little one on his lap. No one else was in the park today, except for the workers of course, because somehow Kaiba had managed to close the park for this one day only -which really wasn't a surprise for Yami in any case-. So, he could be as affectionate or intimate as he wanted with Yugi and no one would be around to see it but the workers who were scheduled for today.

Yugi snuggled into the warmth, resting his head on Yami's shoulder. It felt so right to be in his arms that it made his heartbeat jump a couple of paces faster. It wasn't just the closeness though, it was the fact that the curtain currently hiding Yami's past was finally going to be dropped.

It never really bothered him that Yami knew so much about him, but he only knew so little about Yami. He just thought that since their relationship was steadily growing, he should know a little more about Yami.

"Well," Yami began, finally finding a nice place to start. "My father was a very important person back in Egypt ; he was really involved with politics, just like all the men before him in the Atemu family. Back when he was little he was always being pampered, getting whatever he wanted without a single question. By the time he turned fifteen, his parents had already set up an arranged marriage. The person he was supposed to marry was my mother, it was love at first sight I was told. They got married by age twenty, then had me when my mother was twenty-one."

Yugi was listening intently, so far it seemed like things couldn't possibly be that bad as Yami was leading on. But he felt Yami's arms tense, and his heartbeat thump louder while he was explaining the next part.

"Things were pretty good up until I was thirteen, that's when the cracks started to appear. My parents, they were slowly drifting apart. My dad was more interested in his career than me or my mother, and my mother was too busy trying to keep the family together. Where was I though in all of this? I was out rebelling; running away from the fact that my family was slowly falling apart. It was in the early stages though, but I knew I had to get out sooner rather then later. Then one day…" he paused and rested his head on top of Yugi's. "Dad's career turned downhill and he was losing money really fast. So one day he gets the brilliant idea of sending his own wife and kid off for prostitution. Mom couldn't save herself, so she told me to escape. I was only fourteen then. After that, I left Egypt with my uncle and aunt and never saw my mother or father again."

Yugi was silent as he tried to grasp what Yami just said. Had he really gone through all that? How could any parent treat their own wife and son like that? But then he thought back to his stepfather, and how he so easily used him for his sexual releases.

The little one wrapped his arms around Yami's neck and pulled him into a hug. Lightly, he placed a kiss on Yami's forehead and the crimson eyed teen could feel the heat radiating from the touch. Yami blushed and hugged Yugi back just as tightly, never wanting to let go.

"I'm so sorry…" Yugi was on the verge of tears. He always thought that he was the one person in the world that had experienced severe pain, but he was wrong. Yami had a terrible childhood just as much as Yugi did, but he still had the ability to smile and live, while the old Yugi was trying desperately to hang on to thin thread of rope that was keeping him stable.

"Don't be." Yami whispered into the base of Yugi's neck. "What happened, happened. My dad was a dick, my mom was used, I escaped. I'm here now… and that's all that matters."

"Do you know… what happened to your mom?"

"Not a clue."

Silence ensued afterwards, but the neither one of them minded. They were enjoying embracing each other, clinging onto each other, feeling one another. The colors fiery sunset started to dim to a purple-ish black, while the moon and stars were finally waking up to overtake the sky.

Yami smiled, "Let's not waste our date sitting here on a bench." he laughed as he slowly got up, holding on to Yugi's hand.

"But I liked sitting on you." he smiled in an adorable fashion, "You're pretty comfy." he giggled.

"You can sit as me as much as you want when we're on the Ferris Wheel, Yugi."

"Ferris Wheel?" Yugi chimed in, his eyes glowing and twinkling with childlike amusement. "I've always wanted to ride one." he started to pull Yugi towards the giant ride and soon the two were running together, hand and hand, laughing and giggling as the stars watched them play.

+Innocent+

The Ferris wheel had just stopped at the top for the two's viewing pleasure. Yugi was fully enjoying the view from the top of the ride, he had the best view of the world - in his opinion - of the park, and the buildings that lined Kaiba Land. He would point out the many different stars, and Yami would make up stories about the constellations or stars Yugi'd pick one.

"That one up there," Yugi pointed to the brightest star, "that's our star." he finished with a kiss on the cheek.

Yugi's cheeks flared and slightly pouted. "You can't just go claming stars, Yami." even though he had to admit, he loved knowing that Yami had selected the brightest star to be their own.

He laughed and brought Yugi closer to his chest, "Can't I?" he nuzzled his face into Yugi's neck, inhaling the warm and delicious scent Yugi emitted.

Yugi giggled and snuggled closer, he hadn't felt this happy in a long time. A long time ago, he'd never imagine himself in this situation with anyone, not even Daisuke, but here he was in the arms of Yami watching the beautiful scenery painted out for them.

He clutched slightly onto the fabric of Yami's shirt and placed his head where Yami's heart was, listening intently to his heartbeat.

**You've come along way, you know.**

_I have, haven't I?_

**Not to be all, pushy and what not, but when do you plan on telling Yami about me?**

_Sorry Daisuke, but I have no idea when I'd get the chance to tell him._

**Well don't think you have to do it **now**! I was just wondering as all… anyway, have a nice date!**

Yugi inwardly sighed. He had no idea what to do with Daisuke, but he couldn't keep thinking about that all night. He had other plans in mind.

"Yami?" the crimson eyed teen looked down at Yugi with a questioning expression.

"Yes, Yugi?"

"Thank you… for everything." he smiled softly, hugging Yami tightly. "Every since we met, you've done everything you can to help me, to make me happy. You've showed me that love really does exist… you've given me a another chance to love again." he looked directly into Yami's own eyes, tears threatening to spill, "I'm pretty sure that if we hadn't met, I would even be here right now. I'd probably be strapped against the wall from a metal chain, naked body covered with blood, sweat, and semen, silently praising that I survived another night… but you saved me from that, Yami." the tears started to fall one by one. Just the sight of Yugi crying, thanking Yami for all the things he had done, almost brought the crimson eyed teen to tears himself. "I love you, Yami."

The words were spoken, there was no turning back now. The words Yugi had fought and fought to never say again, had been brought out. He'd finally confessed his love to Yami, finally showed that he had feelings for him, just like Yami had feelings for Yugi.

Yami smiled brightly, gently kissing the teardrops away. The salty taste of tears tasted oh so good on Yami's tongue. He'd finally heard Yugi say "I love you". His heart was soaring, his mind was racing, his thoughts were getting jumbled because they were rewinding over and over again, _"I love you. I love you. I love you" _

Now all he wanted to do was to capture those delicious and enticing lips, and claim them as his own.

Looked like Yugi had the same idea in mind because soon, Yami was being pulled towards his little's ones lips. hE could feel the nervousness through Yugi's lips, as his body start to shiver in both pleasure and nerves, but as Yami slowly started to respond, the nerves floated away.

They kissed under the watch of the stars, as the Ferris Wheel slowly kicked into motion. Their kissing turned more passionate. Yami pulled Yugi even closer, running his tongue along Yugi's bottom lip; begging for entrance. His hand slowly slid up the back of Yugi's shirt, rubbing circles on the pale skin.

Yugi arched his back and gasped, allowing Yami's tongue to enter. The minute his tongue touched Yugi's, his body went on fire, and he couldn't hold back the moan that escaped his lips as he teased and played with Yugi's tongue. He explored every inch of Yugi's mouth while holding on tightly to Yugi's quivering form.

The ride ended, and the two slowly broke apart, a thin trail of saliva followed their lips. The man at the ticket station lowered his hat, blushing slightly at just witnessing the two kiss. Yugi only smiled softly, a rosy pink blush was on his cheeks. Yami rested his forehead against Yugi's basking in the moment of their kiss.

Innocent: It feels so good to say, 'I love you'+

"We're home!" Yami cried out into the darkness of the living room. The TV was still on, playing some random station, but asides from that the house was quiet. "Everyone must be sleeping." Yami said more quietly.

Yugi nodded and the two proceeded to creep up the stairs, slamming the door to the room softly as to not wake anyone up. Not paying any mind to their surroundings, the two quickly stripped off their clothes, replaced them with pajamas, and slipped into bed.

Yugi cuddled into Yami's embrace, enjoying the warmth and security it provided. He felt hands rustle through his hair and gave Yugi a confused look. "Is my hair that interesting?" he joked.

Yami just shook his head and chuckled. The two had the exact same hairstyle, it really wasn't that interesting at all, what he found though; now that was interesting.

It was a delicate, soft to the touch, red rose petal. Actually, the whole bed was filled with rose petals that Yami could only imagine the thoughts that were running through Kaiba's head -the obvious culprit- when he was ordering all of these.

He laughed and started to trace Yugi's face with the rose petal. Yugi shivered at the touch and silently enjoyed how good the soft texture felt against his own skin. He picked up his own rose petal and started to trace it along Yami's face too. Soon the two were placing rose petal upon rose petal on different parts of their bodies until they were almost covered in them.

"Red's a good color on you." Yami laughed and placed a sweet kiss on Yugi's nose.

Yugi did a cute twitch of the nose to shake of the rose petal, "It looks even better on you." he teased and grabbed a rose petal that decided to hang off Yami's bang.

Yami grabbed Yugi's hand, placed a kiss on the palm, before bringing their lips together. The two broke apart, staring deeply and passionately into the other's eyes.

"I love you, Yugi." Yami whispered pulling Yugi closer to his body.

"I love you too, Yami."

That night, the two fell asleep in each others arms surrounded by millions of tiny rose petals.


	14. Chapter 14

**THANK YOU MY AWESOME BETA TENSPEED57 FOR BETA-ING THIS! WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOU ;D! gives you hugs and plushes and awesome yaoi-fan art...- (:!**

Hey everyone! Fallen here with another wonderful chapter of Save the Innocent :D. I'm pretty bummed though... only two reviews ): -sniffles in corner- but it's okay because there most be logical reasons as to why not many people review!

Kaiba: Sure... logical.

Me: :|... Anyway, to those who HAD reviewed, **dragonlady22 and Jillkun-ness thank you all very much for being consistent reviewers! :D. **Now then, a few tidbits of information to you all (: . I used my notes app on my Ipod, to actually type out mini plots for the chapters in each of my stories, and I did one for Save the Innocent, so instead of being a short, 20 chapter, fanfic, STI is going to have a total of **34 **chapters :D! -throws confetti- that's right... read the bold number for it is no lie! Also... this story mayyy have a sequel, who knows... what do you think? (: .

Anyway, before I leave you all to read, two more things!

1. This chapter may seem a little light hearted and humorous (like previous chapters before. SORRY i can't be all sad and depressed in story writing all the time D:) but that's only because in the next couple of chapters, i'm planing to get all angsty and um.. maybe some tears will come too. Who knows!

2. If you are the **55th or 60th reviewer I'll right a YamixYugi oneshot for you, based on whatever you want! **(: . Then I'll release them on the week I release STI. Since I'm finally stopped being lazy and have set schedules now for these things... so check be on the look out for the next chapter of this by... DEC 12 - 18 or even earlier than that (:... or later :/

Now that I'm done with my babbling... Read, Review, and please do enjoy (:. I'm looking for at least 5+ reviews for this chapter! That's all (:.

* * *

+Save the Innocent: Things are finally going in the right direction…+

The man dialed the phone, impatiently waiting for the person on the other line to pick up. He was twirling a string that hung lifelessly on the end of his faded gray shirt, nervousness flowing through him as the phone kept on ringing, and ringing, and ringing.

Finally, the phone on the other end picked up, a deep gravelly crackled to life over the speaker, "Yes?"

"I found him!" the man didn't even attempt to hide his excitement, his joy. After years of searching, always coming up with barely a scrap of evidence, he had finally found him… the one he'd been looking for all these years.

The man at other end of the line widened his, dulled with age, amethyst eyes. Though he knew his son wouldn't be able to see the gesture, "Are you sure?" he asked skeptically, "I don't want you to get your hopes up, Kio…"

"I'm not getting my hopes up this time, Dad!" Kio paced up and down his brightly lit hallway, a bounce in his steps. "I know it's him, I just know it! He looks _exactly _like her. The moment I laid my eyes on him…," he inadvertently smiled at the memory of meeting the boy at the gravesite, he looked just like his mother. They same wild, blonde lightning bolt bangs, the same purple and black hair, those startling and alluring amethyst eyes… the similarities were too breathtaking for it, _not_ to be him!

"Kio," Kio's dad leaned against his wall, running a hand, wrinkled from age, through his gray and spiky hair. He didn't know what to do with his son when he got so worked up like this, 'But to say I'm not excited as well would be a lie,' he thought to himself before sighing into the phone, "are you positive it's him we're looking for?"

"For the last time, Dad, yes!"

"Alright, alright." his dad was already sitting on the couch, playing with one of the strings on the pillows, "What's the plan?

"… I don't know," he answered with a nervous laugh, but silenced when his dad didn't return a laugh back. "I'm just going to pray really hard that we cross paths again."

His father made a grunt of approval. "Call me if you see him again."

"I will, Dad."

The phone went dead.

+Innocent+

Yugi and Yami emerged from their bedrooms, with a decent amount of bed head, and headed towards the kitchen for some late-morning breakfast in a pace that could put any turtle to shame.

"Cereal or waffles, Yami?" Yugi stood on his tip-toes, fishing for either a box of cereal or a box of Eggo waffles. He decided that even if Yami chose one over the other, whatever box was in his hand when he pulled it out would be the winner.

"Mmm, mawffles," Yami let out an unintelligible mutter, his face lying on the table as if it was a very comfortable pillow. In Yami's sleep-induced mind, it was probably the most comfortable thing he had ever rested his head on - beside's Yugi's head… or chest…

Yugi giggled at the answer, he loved seeing Yami's innocennce so often because it was something only he was able to see. At school, Yami was always the cool, only spoke his mind when he had to, type of person that everyone wanted to be around. Yet, Yugi knew what was beneath that cool mask Yami held on his face - a happy, joking, comforting, loving (and somewhat of a pervy), Yami.

He couldn't ask for anything more, nor did he want to.

Sliding the two, ice-coated waffles into the toaster, Yugi sat down on Yami's awaiting lap, resting his head on his broad, relaxing shoulders. He smiled when he saw a look of complete and unaware bliss on Yami's face, 'If only I had my sketchpad…,' Yugi took a mental image of his love's sleeping face, and saved it away for later.

'I'd hate to wake him up…,' Yugi thought, running his hands through Yami's wild and spiked hair. 'But, for the sake of breakfast, I must!' he concluded, nibbling on the exposed ear that looked like it was screaming out to Yugi to bite it! "Wake up, sleepyhead." he purred, licking the outer shell of Yami's ear.

Yami groaned, a light blush spreading across his face, finding himself, and his little friend, slowly waking up, "Mmm, m' wake, m' wake." Yami mumbled, snuggling his face into the crock of Yugi's neck, his lips only a mere kiss away from the enticing and seemingly delicious skin that Yami was able to touch only a few times.

Yami's breath snaked up Yugi's exposed skin, sending shivers up and down his tiny frame. He wanted Yami to kiss him! Suck on his neck, bite and gnaw at the skin until there was a decent mark on his neck. Yami's lips were an addiction - an addiction Yugi didn't have to go to rehab for. His eyes fluttered to a close, long eyelashes brushing against his skin, his breath started to come out in pants as Yami's lips grew closer and closer to Yugi's pulsing vein.

"Morning, lovebirds!" Mokuba yawned loudly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Compared to the other two, Mokuba's bed head was far more untamed, poking out in all sorts of directions, like a lion's mane. He padded across the tiled floor in his cute panda slippers and grabbed one of the waffles that had just popped out of the toaster. Happily ignoring the death glare he was receiving from the crimson eyed teen, he placed the nicely toasted waffle onto a plate, drowning the poor thing in a sea of syrup.

"Mokie!" Yami pouted childishly, using his "creative nickname" he made for Mokuba to strike a nerve, "Those were my waffles!" he playfully whined.

Mokuba bit into his waffle, savoring the taste of the gooey syrup sliding down his throat mixed with the soggy breakfast food, "Deal with it, Yami," he smirked triumphantly, "you snooze, you loose!"

"Leggo my Eggo!" Yami shook his fist, ready to pounce on the table to receive his stolen breakfast. That was his waffle! The one Yugi took less then a minute to pop into the toaster for him, and now that waffle was resting in the torture chamber known as Mokuba's stomach.

Yugi chuckled while shaking his head, he always treasured watching Yami's acts of immaturity at play - it was always an entertaining sight to see in his opinion. "Oh stop being a baby, Yami." Yugi playfully scolded, "There's another waffle in the toaster."

"But I wanted two waffles, Aibou." complained, eyeing the smaller teen with puppy dog eyes, hoping his newly acquired nickname for Yugi would send the right signals. The right signals of course being, getting him another waffle, but all he got was a blush - not that he was complaining about that, obviously .

Mokuba shook his head in shame, biting into his waffle and making obnoxious sounds as he masticated his waffle. He smiled goofily when those crimson eyes turned from intrigue to death glare towards his direction, shooing it off with a wave of his fork and digging into his breakfast again.

The rest of the meal was spent with Yugi finally getting up to get Yami another waffle, then getting attacked with a bear hug from his ever-so-loving Yami. Mokuba sat in pleased silence, a smile on his face, as he watched the childish and warm atmosphere that was being emitted from the couple.

'It's so nice to see Yugi happy again, without a care in the world,' Mokuba thought to himself, eyeing his friend as Yugi playfully punched Yami's arm - that's when he saw it. The slight movement of the fabric, revealing the back of Yugi's porcelain neck - a nice sized red mark adorned the skin.

'A hickey,' Mokuba concluded, for a teen his age he wasn't that unfamiliar with how one shows affection towards another. His brother left hickeys all the time on Jou's body in the most obvious places. Hell, even Kaiba had a couple of hickey's on his skin from time to time. 'It's a relatively big on, too.' he started to play with his fork, twirling the metal object in his fingers, eyes trained on that red mark.

"Yami, just take the darn waffle!" Yugi slammed the plate with a syrup-coated waffle, completed with a big slab of butter, on the table underneath Yami's noise. His patience was running pretty thin, mostly because the teen wasn't much of a morning person (ironically enough), and Yami was just being too stubborn for him to handle, "See," he pointed towards the plate, "it's just the way you like it."

Yami glanced down at the plate, clearly ignoring the air of irritation that hung off of Yugi like a shirt, and grimaced. Yes, he was acting like a spoiled brat, but it was fun in his opinion! That and the fact that Yugi looked so very cute when he was angered. "I want pancakes now."

Yugi threw his arms in the air in exasperation, "You're hopeless, Yami!" but laughed anyways when he saw Yami digging into his waffle, a moan of gratification escaping the crimson eyed teen's lips.

'That hickey…,' Mokuba's thoughts ran in the direction of the hickey. His eyes completely glued to that one spot.

"I thought I heard people down here," Jou leaned against the doorway, letting out a purr as he stretched the kinks out of his tired muscles. He padded across the floor, barefoot, to the refrigerator. Grabbing a carton of orange juice, he ruffled Mokuba's hair as he want for a glass. Jou was in mid-pour of his drink when his eyes followed the little lion's trained gaze.

"Whatcha looking at, Mokie?" apparently Yami was the only one who had taking a liking to the new nickname.

"Hickey…" Mokuba breathed, his face lighting on fire. Yes, he'd seen hickey's many times before, but it was just weird to see one so big and painstakingly obvious on his best friend's neck!

"Hmmm?" Jou drank his orange juice, following Mokuba's gaze. His chocolate brown eyes landd on the abused flesh that had seized the little lion's attention. He nearly gagged when his mind registered what the mark actually was, doing a very hilarious spit take of his orange juice. "H-Hickey!" Jou chocked out, gaining the attention of Yugi and Yami.

"What?" Yami raised an eyebrow, Yugi cocked his head to the side in an adorable fashion, and Mokuba just continued to stare.

"On the back of your neck, Yug," Jou pointed in the direction of the hickey. The tri-colored haired teen's hand already brushing against the skin where the alleged hickey was placed. "Yami, you horndog! If you're going to mark your territory, at least have some discreetness about it!" Jou joked, smiling insanely at the confused duo looking as if they had no idea what he was talking about.

Yami raised his eyebrow even higher, wondering what in the world the blonde was going on about. "Jou, is that orange juice of yours spiked?" the blonde took a glance at his orange juice, eyeing the orange liquid that swirled around in his glass. He mumbled something along the lines of his orange juice being perfectly fine with the right amount of citrus mixed into the drink.

"I know what I saw, Yami!"

"Jou's right!" Mokuba finally snapped from his trance, adding in his own two cents, but his eyes were still trained on the same spot.

Yugi's fingers brushed against the bruise on the back of his neck. He winced, only slightly, not out of the physical pain, but out of the painful memories it brought back of his old home life before he was saved. "It's not a hickey…," Yugi whispered quietly, but it was loud enough to reach the ears of Jou, Yami and Mokuba.

The blonde's chocolate brown eyes widened in disbelief, "If it's not a hickey then-" his voice trailed off, the truth finally dawning on him, "Oh God, Yugi… I didn't know. I-"

"-Jou it's fine," Yugi smiled tenderly at his remorseful best friend, knowing very well that his friend was ignorant to the fact about what it really was. "In all honesty, I've totally forgotten it was there in the first place." He had acquired the bruise long ago when he was still living with his father. It was one of the many results of how truly abusive Kyouske could get when the small teen refused to do his bidding. 'Something along the lines of… "Get on the wall and show off your ass like a porn star,"' Yugi recalled to himself one of the many drunken quotes his father would spew out on a daily basis.

Yami, being the gentle and caring person he was, brushed his own tanned fingers across the bruise. The delicate and calming sensation of the long appendages sending electrifying shivers up and down Yugi's small spine. "It doesn't hurt anymore, right?" Yugi shook his head in response, causing a smile to grace Yami's lips. "You know, maybe giving Yugi a hickey wouldn't be a bad idea," he purred seductively into the crook of his Aibou's neck, ignoring the weird glances he was getting from Jou and Mokuba.

"Please refrain from deflowering Yugi in my presence, Yami." Kaiba sighed, flicking Yami in the back of his head before taking his place beside his puppy. "Yugi," he took a sip of his warm coffee, the hot black liquid sliding down his throat, coursing through his veins, "what are you doing today?"

"Hmmm," Yugi placed his slender finger on the tip of his chin, "well I was going to draw a few more pieces of artwork before the festival today. Then after that… I don't know." he finished with a shrug.

"Good, then we can go shopping today."

"Shopping!" Mokuba and Jou cried out in unison, pumping their fists in the air with excitement. It wasn't everyday Kaiba offered to take them out anywhere, let alone the mall.

"What's the occasion?" Yami relaxed himself on the table, leaning forward so that his elbows were touching the table with his chin in his palms.

"Yugi, you haven't been back to your house yet have you?" Kaiba ignored Yami's question outright, not feeling the urge to answer him so straightforwardly. Even with the brush off from the brunette, Yami knew he was going to get the answer to his question indirectly.

The small teen shook his head in response. Yes, he did think about how his father was doing from time to time but, asides from that, Yugi never once thought about stepping a foot onto that dreaded property, into that lowly, dirty, sorry excuse for a house where he was raped countless of times.

"Then I'm guessing you're running low on clothing and other necessities?" Kaiba continued to ask.

Yugi widened his hands, waving his hands in front of his face while shaking his head, "No, Kaiba, you're not implying on buying me new clothes, are you?" Yugi squeaked. He was already living in the brunette's posh mansion, borrowing Mokuba's clothing (even though it was starting to dwindle down to a few t-shirts since the size just kept getting smaller), and if it wasn't for Kaiba's help back when they were kids, he'd probably never would have made it through the night.

Now he wanted to go shopping for him?

"Yugi, I'm not going to stand here all day and listen to your complaints and protests. We're going and that's final." Kaiba dumped the remains of his coffee into the sink, turning on the faucet in the process. The brownish-black liquid mingling with the clear faucet water as the two liquids flowed down the drain. "Since it's a Sunday, we're in no rush. We'll leave by four and come back by eight."

Without even waiting for a reply, a grunt of approval, Kaiba was out the door.

"I think we just witnessed Kaiba's business side," Yami shivered jokingly, pretending as if the cold demeanor from the brunette dropped the room's temperature down a few degrees - which it most certainly had.

Yugi pouted however, "I really don't want Kaiba to do this…,' he mumbled to himself.

"Well he is." Jou replied bluntly, folding his arms behind his head. "So I guess we're just going to have to deal with it." he shrugged absentmindedly, a lopsided grin on his face. "Besides, the new Kingdom Hearts game just came out today."

"358/2 Days?" Mokuba bounced on the balls of his feet, a child-like gleam in his dark onyx eyes.

"That's the one!" Jou replied with the same amount of excitement.

Yami raised an eyebrow, 'Kingdom Hearts?'

"Some video game created by Disney." Yugi answered the silent question, "It's really popular apparently."

"Damn straight it is!" Jou added in his own two cents.

"Sounds… boring," Yami stated after a few seconds of pondering. He went back to his waffle, pretending to be blissfully ignorant to the fact that his last comment struck a nerve in the blonde.

"Like hell it's boring!" Jou slammed his fists on the counter, letting out a dog like snarl. "I don't want to hear lip from you, since you've never even played the game!"

'And I'd like to keep it that way,' Yami kept that thought to himself. Yes, it was highly intriguing for him to push all the wrong button's with Jou till they popped, but he knew how far he could go before blood would fly everywhere and some limbs would be broken.

"You'll see it our way soon enough, Yami. Any day now you'll be begging us to play Kingdom Hearts!" Mokuba smirked knowingly.

"I highly doubt that," Yami feigned nonchalance, running his tanned fingers through his little one's spiky locks.

Yugi flinched, knowing all too well that Yami had just pressed the wrong button… way too far.

"Fuck you, Yami!" really, Jou's temper was highly childish and could put a bull's own temper to shame. A plate flew from his hands, aiming directly at Yami's head, but missed it's destination. The poor plate collided with the wall, shattering upon impact.

"Puppy," Kaiba poked his head in the doorway, his voice a deathly octave, "was that the sound of expensive china shattering against a wall that I just heard?" he raised an eyebrow, his cobalt eyes glaring death towards the blonde.

"Hehe…"

+Innocent: Be Merry Now, Because Dark Days are Coming+

"One more!" Kyouske screamed, face flushed and covered with sweat, as he slammed his glass against the black marble counter at the bar.

"Kyouske, that's your tenth one." the bartender pointed out. He was all too familiar with his friend's strange drinking habits. Once the alcohol hit his system, he would change into another person entirely. 'I don't even think he notice's anymore,' the bartender thought as he poured the man another glass, 'Its more like his body automatically grew an addiction for this wretched thing.' Honestly, the middle-aged, tall and lean, bartender hated alcohol with a fiery passion, but it was in his father's will that he should gain control over the 24/7 bar and he didn't have it in his heart to turn down his old man's dying will.

"I don't fwuckin care," Kyouske slurred, guzzling the alcoholic beverage in record speed. He burped obnoxiously, sighing as the warm, cool liquid surged through his body, dulling the world down to a nice blend of colors. "Swut weft me," he murmured in a daze.

"Eh?" the bartender stopped cleaning out the glass to give his friend a confused look.

"Da swut, Eiwi, da swut!"

Eiji (A/N: Poor Kyouske, alcohol just messes up those wonderful pronunciation skills of his) placed the glass down, concern for his friend kicking up a couple of notches. "Kyouske, you're not referring to-"

"Dat wittle son ov a bitch, my son ov a bitch!" son of a bitch meaning his son Yugi in this case.

"What about him…?" Eiji asked warily.

"Ee wan away from ome!"

Eiji didn't show any surprise on his face, 'About time…' he thought sadly. Yes, Kyouske was his dear friend, they went years back, but he knew what Kyouske was doing was wrong. It was just a matter of time before the little kid had the sense to escape.

"When I git my ands on im-"

"-Sorry Kyouske, but it's time for me too lock up the place." actually, it was a quarter to six and the place ran all night, but Kyouske was too drunk to care. Eiji pushed the man onto the streets, feeling only the least bit sorry that his friend fell hard on his ass, and closed the shop up. "Get some water or something! You're going to experience one hell of a hangover!" he cried before heading off to his car.

"Hangover?" Kyouske said the word out loud, then doubled over in laughter. In his drunken state, just about anything was downright hilarious.

The man curled up into ball, eyes glazed over staring out into nothing. " M' horny… where da fwuck is my swut!" the man roared, rolling around on the ground in a temper tantrum. "M find me swut…" Kyouske fumbled while trying to get up from the ground, his sole intent was the only thing that kept his teetering to a minimum….

He was going to find his slut.

* * *

I hope Kyouske's drunken language was okay -sweatdrops- i've never been drunk... so... i tried my best with this! -nervous laughter- and YUS! that's right... new characters on the loose (: Kio's dad, and Eiji! Btw, Kio's Dad is Solomon from the anime... but i didn't feel like mentioning his name -.-" I'll do that nexttt chapter. so yeah... i hope you enjoyed (: Review pwease? (:


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15 for you all (:. Sorry I was delayed... I kind of lost my mojo for this story... but now I've got it back! Now somethings to keep in mind since I never really got around to adressing this...

**Bold Letters **are when Daisuke is having an inner convo with Yugi.

_Italic Letters _are when Yugi is responding.

Also, there are OC's in this story, like Kio and Kyouske and the mention of Yugi's mother. But, Kyouske and Kio will have more prominent spots in this story.

And now for a disclaimer... because they can be so fun to do (:

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I had it once, then I played this poker game with this one guy named Kazuki Takahashi. He got me high off of coke and skittles and trumped me with a Royal Flush... I was devastated.**

(Also, in this chapter Daisuke takes over Yugi's body - so I'll be referring Yugi as Daisuke. Just saying this so I don't confuse people :D)

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+Save the Innocent: Sometimes, It's Good to be Spoiled. +

**Blue brings out your eyes.**

_But the shirt's two sizes too small…_

**Then we'll find a shirt that's just right!**

_But the price…-_

**-Doesn't matter since Kaiba's paying for it.**

Yugi sighed; really, Daisuke's sense of logic was just too much for the little teen to handle sometimes. Eyeing the light blue, long sleeve, v-neck tee he was currently fitting, he decided that it shaped well on his frame and really did bring out his eyes - just like Daisuke said.

But it all came down to the price.

_I'm already staying at his home; I don't want to abuse his kindness by buying this shirt._

**Yugi, I'm pretty sure Kaiba won't be missing that extra twenty dollars from his wallet if he buys you that shirt. **

_But-!_

**No! No more buts! We are buying this shirt and you are going to like it. You got that mister?**

_Daisuke, I'm not buying this shirt._

… **Fine, but remember; you brought what's about to happen upon yourself.**

Yami took another glance towards his little one, smiling softly as he watched Yugi engrossed in a mini-debate with himself. 'Geez, he's just too cute,' Yugi thought. He was so tempted to just run over there and give Yugi a tight squeeze, but then he saw Yugi bite onto his bottom lip, holding the shirt in his hand like his life depended on it. 'What in the world…?'

He quickly walked over to Yugi, speeding up when he saw the small one's eyes close and his body sway. 'Oh God…' "Yugi!" he nearly screamed, running to catch the small teen just in time before Yugi fell on the floor. "Yugi! Yugi, wake up!" he cried frantically.

Amethyst eyes fluttered opened slowly, the blurriness of the world around him started to fade away. Fuzzy shapes gained round, sharp, edges. The concerned looks that he was receiving from everyone caused the smaller teen to groan a little in both frustration and dizziness.

'The next time I take over his body, I'm doing it in a place where not as many people are around.' Daisuke mentally corrected his mistake, but his plan had worked nonetheless – he had gotten Yami over to where he had been, and that part of the plan had gone without a hitch. The issue of getting Yugi to comply with him and get the shirt was at the bottom of Daisuke's to-do-list. What he really wanted was to get Yami's attention.

He succeeded with that phase of the plan very well.

'Now onto step two,'

"Yugi," Yami's concerned voice rang through his ears, "are you alright?"

"I-I think so...," he tried to stand up, but the floor almost slipped from underneath him. Thankfully, Yami was right there to catch Daisuke before he fell. "Ugh…," Daisuke groaned, leaning his (Yugi's) head back onto Yami's shoulder. "I need to lie down."

Yami nodded an okay and carried Daisuke out of the store, bringing him to the main crossway of the mall where all the stores intersected together.

The mall was bustling with people, moving here through there, trying to find the right store where all the sales would be. Fishing in and out of the crowd, Yami finally laid eyes on a deserted bench and placed Daisuke carefully onto its soft cushions. Without even asking, the crimson eyed teen rested the smaller one's head onto his lap, fingering his scalp ever-so-gently.

"Mmm… your hands feel good," Daisuke purred. 'No wonder Yugi fell in love with him! His hands are like magic...' he could already feeling himself drifting off, but he had to stay awake a little while longer so he could finish his plan.

Yami chuckled, threading his nimble fingers through the smaller ones hair. "You scared the living shit out of me, Yugi. When I saw you almost collapse, I thought that maybe your body was finally giving out, you know?" he clutched onto his little one tightly, "I was so scared…" Yami whispered into his ears.

"Well, sorry I almost scared the living shit out of you there, but it was the only way to get us alone!" Daisuke suddenly sprung up from Yami's lap, laughing at the shocked expression that found its way on Yami's face. "You look like you've just seen the devil, Kid."

"Y-Yugi, are you okay? Did you accidently hit your head on something?" Yami wrinkled his eyebrows together in confusion. One minute, Yugi was groaning, barely able to walk, and the next minute he was sitting up laughing. That didn't make any sense whatsoever.

"Hit my head? Nah, I just knocked little Yugi out for a moment. By the way, I'm Daisuke – Yugi's other conscious." he gave Yami a dazzling smile.

Yami just stared at Daisuke like a deer in headlights. He looked like Yugi, talked like Yugi, but it wasn't Yugi…

'What the…?'

"Look, before you freak out on me, I have something to tell you. So listen up and listen good." he sat Indian style across from Yami, staring at him dead in the eye. "A few years back, Yugi's father was having more and more of his… 'fits'. The bastard would repeatedly rape him at least ten times a night – if not even more. Each night was much more gruesome than the next, sometimes Yugi couldn't get out of bed because of it! But back then, I was just a thought – nothing more nothing less – so I couldn't really do anything about it.

"Until one day though, when things were really getting out of hand, instead of just being a thought – I became another being living inside of Yugi's head. I used that development as my chance to swap out Yugi's conscious with my own, taking the pain on for him when things got… ugly."

Yami tried to absorb all the information that was being thrown at him but it was hard. The mere thought that Yugi's mind was being occupied by another… another being, was just something that was unheard of to him! Sure, he's read about people with different personalities but he'd never actually encountered someone with the same deficiency - that someone being his boyfriend.

'Why didn't he tell me sooner?' the thought was running through Yami's mind. It was that mere thought that drove him insane. Hadn't Yugi told him everything, because there was a solid trust between the two?

"I know this may seem like a lot too absorb in such a short amount of time. And I know it must be driving you crazy that Yugi hadn't told you sooner, but really: what would you have done in that situation? Someone whom you just met, suddenly steps into your life and becomes your most cherished person. You recently discover that your mind is occupied with another entity. Yugi already cleared one mountain, telling you about his past; the second mountain – me – just seemed a little too big for him to climb. He was afraid that… you'd reject him if you knew."

"That still doesn't make sense to me!" Yami literally screamed his anger and confusion replacing his common sense in mere seconds. Daisuke slightly flinched; he surely hadn't expected that from Yami. He thought that the crimson eyed teen would be a little more understanding.

'Guess my assumption was wrong,' Daisuke mentally sighed. Here he was trying to make things a little easier, then the whole situation just turned upside and ugly fast.

"Well," Daisuke casually leaned against the bench. He wasn't in the mood to fight a battle with the enraged teen in front of him; that would only ware him out and cause his visit length to shorten. "You should know better than anyone that Yugi isn't an open book. For the past couple of days Yugi and I have been talking – about our situation – and we decided that we'd tell you sooner or later. Just that sooner became later, with the whole funeral visit and your date, so Yugi just couldn't find the right time to tell you. But, as I said before, Yugi didn't want to lose you."

"Without you… he's nothing. It's corny, unbelievable, I know, but it's true. If you just suddenly stormed out of his life, Yugi wouldn't be able to take it. His whole life people had called him a freak, treated him like an outcast, it was a miracle that he met Jou, Mokuba and Kaiba, but he didn't want you to be a part of that same group that treated him like a monster because of their ignorance.."

Yami sat there, contemplating. He didn't want to just blow up, and then storm out of the mall without even considering Yugi's side of the story. His personality wouldn't allow such a thing to happen. So instead, Yami just ran a hand through his hair, letting out a shaky sigh before turning his downcast eyes towards Daisuke. "The one thing, that gets me riled up the most, is that Yugi thought I would be just like the rest. Whoever you are-

"-Daisuke," he reminded Yami.

"Daisuke," Yami nodded. "I'm thankful to you for taking on all the pain away, but, I would have really liked it if I heard all of this from Yugi."

"Yugi would have probably told you hmm…," He scratched his chin thoughtfully for a moment before answering, "a few more days. Give or take a month." Daisuke cracked a grin, laughing a little at his means of a joke. When Yami didn't even bare a smile back, he sobered up. "Look, Kid, all I'm saying here is that Yugi would have told you, but I chose to tell you sooner rather than to hold it off. It's your choice whether or not you want to yell at Yugi for keeping this from you, or accept this as another bit of Yugi you've just uncovered."

They held each other's gazes, neither of them faltered from the intense glaring competition that had ensued. Yami was searching, digging, for the Yugi he knew and loved, but all he got was the determined, yet somewhat cold, gaze of Daisuke. Upon further inspection, Yami could sense the slight discoloration of their eyes. When Yugi was conscious, his eyes were a startling bright purple but when Daisuke took a claim of Yugi's subconscious, his eyes turned to a slightly less bright purple and more of a maroon color.

"Yami, another thing," Daisuke's voice had gotten softer as his eyes became downcast. "My presence has been more or less… not constant. Since Yugi doesn't need me as much as he did in the past, my usefulness is slowly dwindling. I didn't just take over Yugi's body for a joyride, Yami; I need you to promise me that no matter what, you won't leave him. You'll protect him with ever microfiber of your being to make sure Yugi's as happy as possible." He relaxed back onto the bench, "If you can do that one thing for me… I'd be indebted to you forever."

"I promise…" Yami stated quietly, but that wasn't good enough. He had to say it out loud; Daisuke wouldn't let him off with such a week grumble. "Don't worry, Daisuke, I'll never hurt Yugi. I love him too much to see him in pain; I'll protect him enough for the both of us." He promised, which seemed to please Daisuke quite a bit.

"Good, that's what I like to hear." He closed his eyes for a moment, eyebrows scrunched in concentration over something Yami could only guess was a conversation with Yugi. "He's conscious is becoming more apparent…, Jesus this kid is giving me a migraine!" he smirked a little, "I did all I had to do here, when Yugi comes out give him a big fat hug and tell him you'll always be by his side no matter what happens! And if you fail that I swear to everything that is colorful I'll fucking kill you," Yami was startled, to say the least, to hear such a foul word come out of Yugi's cute and innocent mouth. But he had to remind himself it was Daisuke talking, not Yugi.

"Nice to finally meet yah, Kid, oh by the way, can you make sure you don't tell Yugi about this little visit. Just tell him I wanted to take his body out for a spin as a little payback for not listening to me." Yami wordlessly nodded as he watched Daisuke slip back into the corners of Yugi's mind. The body went limp; thank God Yami was there to prop it up, while the switch took place.

"Mmm…, Y-Yami?" Yugi groaned as the grogginess slowly slipped away. Shapes regained their edges and everything seemed a lot less fuzzy as the sleep and confusion started to slip away. Yugi laid his head on Yami's chest before realizing what probably just happened. "Oh God… Yami! I'm so sorry, did… I say some strange things… or something…" Yugi didn't make eye contact, fumbling with a piece of string that hung lifelessly on Yami's sleeve.

"Not as strange as any of the other things you say on a daily basis," Yami laughed when Yugi failed to land on hard punch on his chest. He was glad to have his Yugi back, his cute, innocent, shy Yugi. 'I think I'd be a happy person if I don't have to deal with Daisuke again…'

Yami bit his lower lip; he knew what Daisuke had done. Or at least a vague impression of what he probably did. 'There are two possibilities: either Daisuke took my body for his own enjoyment, or he told Yami about his existence… I'm betting on the latter, but I won't know if I don't ask… but… what if Yami gets angry that I never told him about Daisuke in the first place? No! Yugi, you have to tell him, you've told him all about your past – Yami deserves to know.'

"Umm, Yami… I have something to tell you, about the reason why I passed out."

"Because of Daisuke, right?"

"W-What, how did you know that?"

"Well, let's just say… you have a very mischievous other half, Yugi."

Yugi groaned, just the sheer thought of what Daisuke could have said or done made his stomach do somersaults that put gymnasts to shame.

"W-What… did he say?"

"Something along the lines of… 'Hey! I had this body first, get your own cute boy to snuggle with!', but I told him that you were mine, and mine alone, and that no matter what happens in the distant, or near, future…," he brought Yugi closer and placed a delicate kiss on his forehead, then the bridge of his nose to the tip of his nose, all the way down to his warm, awaiting lips. "I'll always protect, never leaving your smiling side for a moment."

Yugi blushed, a full beet, scarlet rose red that covered across from cheek to cheek. He buried his face into Yami's chest, clutching onto him tightly for he was afraid that stuttering words full of shyness would ruin the moment that was bestowed upon them.

Yami buried his face into Yugi's hair, enjoying the fresh scent of lavender shampoo that wafted into his nostrils. The two stayed in each other's embrace, relishing the warmth and complete security hugging each other gave.

Hands roamed over sides and chests, completely forgetting the fact that they were in the mall – a nearly empty area of the mall though. The touches left their skins crackling to life, sparking emotions and shivers to run through their bodies with a shattering force. Just from mere touching, mere hugging… they could bring out so much emotion.

Just a little while longer… they stayed in each other's arms until hilarious reality brought them back.

"I'm still wearing the shirt from the store!" Yugi cried as he ran, and dodged, through a crowd of people to hurry back to the store.

"Yugi, calm down-"

"- I can't when I'm wearing stolen property!"

"But you fainted!"

"With the shirt still on my body, Yami! They'll think I'm some suspicious miscreant that fakes a fainting spell just so I can get away with a free t-shirt."

They probably didn't think that since most of the workers were concerned for the boy's welfare also.

"I am so sorry, sir," Yugi bowed respectfully when he reached one of the employees that was currently folding over a set of t-shirts. "I didn't mean to exit the store while I was still wearing the shirt. Please don't think I was trying to do the five-finger discount."

The employee turned around, his spiked black, with a few streaks of grey, stood up straight and proud. Right off the bat, he recognized that voice as the boy he met at the graveyard. Kio's heart picked up a couple of paces when he stared into the eyes of the apologizing teen below him.

"I don't normally faint very often, but I guess I wasn't feeling well, so that's why I fainted. I didn't want the shirt to begin with and-"

"-Yugi, it's quite alright. I knew you wouldn't be capable of doing anything like that."

"Thank you sir – wait… how do you know my name?" Yugi cocked his head to the side. He didn't remember ever mentioning his name to the man, but there was something tugging at the back of his mind that he had met this person before… but where…

"I'm not surprised you don't remember me, but I remember you very well." Kio bent down, holding onto Yugi tightly as he fought back the tears that threatened to escape. "I've missed you so much, Yugi. To hold my son in my arms again… that's what I've always prayed would happen. And now, that day has finally come."

* * *

Hooray :D Done, done and done! Kio is back in buisness baby and he's finally got a formal reunion with Yugi! Since I have the next 19 chapters typed up... I'll give you a little sneak pick as to what to expect next chapter ;D.

**Next Time - Things get heated up during the school festival. Just when things seem to be going right, they take a turn in the wrong direction.**

Also, I'm really sorry to anyone who reads Shattered or Love Guided by the Stars but they will be put on hiatus till further notice... and by further notice I mean until I get my groove back for these stories O_O. Anyway hope you enjoyed chapter 15 (:, till next time.


	16. Chapter 16

Betaaaa, where are you! D: Come back so you can fix my horrible spelling mistakes!

Eeeep, guys... SO CLOSEEE TO 60 REVIEWS! I'm pumped o.o -fists pumps-.

Speaking of reviews... sonadow1111 you were my 55th reviewer, so if you're reading this I sent you a PM about the whole oneshot dealio :D.

Also, if you're the 60th reviewer I'll write up a oneshot for you tooo (:

Now then, since my distress call is done... I can now babble with you all (:. Thank you, everyone, for sticking with me and my verrrrrrryyyy sloooooooooowwww updates, they'll come out faster - I promise! I'll tie myself to a chair if I have to, which probably won't happen since mom hid away the rope...

Anyway a little warning for you all, there is drug use (no specific drug... o.e) and sex - but not YamixYugi sex (sorry that comes laterrrr D:!) I tell you this now so you all won't flame me later... I burn easily o.o. Oh oh anddd you can say there's alottt of angsty drama that goes on in this chapter - so don't say I didn't warn you of this b/c I did!

I apologize for any grammar or spelling errors that occur, I wanted to get this out today, and I don't know where my beta is - so I went over this myself (:.

I really don't know what else to say... I'll probably talk more at the bottom.

So... Read and Enjoy (:

* * *

+Save the Innocent: This doesn't seem real to me…+

'What?'

That was the question circulating through Yugi's mind as he stared at his lukewarm coffee. Time seemed to have slowed down, his heartbeat was pounding in his ears, his hands were getting all clammy and shaky, and he couldn't directly make eye contact with Kio… his real father.

All of his emotions were going haywire. Was he supposed to feel happy that, after sixteen years, he'd finally be reunited with his biologic father? Or was he supposed to be fueled with furious rage that his father decided to reappear _now _in his life, after leaving his mother and himself alone.

Yugi couldn't handle all these emotions, they were driving him insane to the point where he wanted to run out of the little café, located at the food court in the mall, and into a bathroom stall where he could just cry out his frustrations.

The only thing that was keeping him sane, at the moment, was Yami. The feel of his fingers intertwined with his own, frail, tiny and pale appendages and Yami's constant stroking, using his thumb to caress the back of his hand, soothed the little's ones emotions to an extent.

Kio was a little bit nervous – no, he was a hell of a lot nervous. He knew that suddenly throwing out into the air that he was Yugi's father was a long shot – seeing as he hadn't directly spoken to Yugi in more than ten years – but he just couldn't live in a world where, day by day, his little son would grow up in the world never knowing who he really was.

Even though Kio should have fully expected this when he walked out of that door, resulting in walking out of Yugi's and his wife's life all those years ago. But of course, there's always a valid reason behind every action.

"I know you must be feeling really… confused about this all but-."

"-Confused is only the half of it," Yugi interrupted. He bit out the words, they sounded harsher than he had intended them to be. But he couldn't help it; he was just feeling so completely… lost, he just didn't know how to react to this situation.

"If you'd just let me explain everything, I think it would clear things up."

'You could try, but it probably won't change a thing.' Yugi thought, but he nodded along nonetheless. Maybe things really would start to seem a little clearer if he listened to what his father had to say. Besides, if anything were to happen – he had Yami as his pillar of support.

Kio let out a heavy sigh, staring into the black openness of his hot chocolate. Where to begin? 'At the beginning,' Kio answered his own rhetorical question, chuckling silently to himself before returning to a more serious composure. "Let's see… I'd hate to start our conversation out with this, but it seems to be the only way to make things easier to understand. The reason why I left, when you were really young, was because of your mother's and my marriage. Don't get me wrong though, in the early stages our marriage was an amazing and special experience that I will always treasure. But I'm just going to get straight to the point, your mother… well… this may seem a tad bit cliché, but, Haruhi was the daughter of a very influential crime lord; when people heard his name they would break out in sweat and start to shake he was that powerful."

"Of course, I being from an ordinary, run-of-the-mill family would fall in love with her the instant I saw her. She was the most… beautiful person I had ever seen in my entire life – you're the spitting image of her, Yugi. I noticed that the very first minute I laid eyes on you at the gravesite."

'So that was him…' Yugi thought back to that day. He probably never would have guessed that was his father, over the years Yugi had forgotten even what his real dad's face even looked like. Just like Kio walked out of the little one's life; Yugi had erased all memories of his dad.

"Of course, her father never really approved of us being together, so we ran away. I think the term you'd use would be... eloped? Right, eloped. Anyway, that's what we did. She wasn't pregnant at the time but, we wanted to be together, we couldn't be seperated - no matter how hard her father tried. So one night, we just escaped it all, moved out of the big city and into a smaller city, Domino."

"My line of work back then was a news reporter. My job required that I go out of the city once in a while to catch up on the news that goes on in the different areas of Japan. I'd be gone for a few days, sometimes weeks, maybe even close to a year depending on how big the scoop was."

Kio let out a heavy sigh; his eyes became downcast as he swished the hot chocolate back and forth in his cup. "I guess one day, your mother was tired of never seeing me home. Tired of sitting alone at the kitchen table, staring at the clock as it ticked, and ticked, wondering when I was ever going to come home, so she could kiss me… then hurry off to bed knowing I was safe and sound." The grip on his cup increased a little, he could feel tears prickling his eyes but he couldn't cry – not now. Not in front of his son. He would never show his weaknesses in front of his only child.

"I found your mother… cheating on me with another man. That's why I left, Yugi. I knew I wasn't enough for your mother anymore, I knew I wouldn't be enough for _you_,so I left. Walked out that door and never came back. I know I sound horrible but… the job I had would only pay so much – not enough to raise a child properly at the age of six. If I had better resources… a better foundation, I would have taken you with me, but then… I didn't want to bring you into a world of legal papers, divorce, a courtroom, having to be brought back and forth between your mother and I, that's not what a six year old needs."

"Then… a few years later, I heard about your mother's death. And believe it or not, even though your mother and I were separated, we would still write occasional letters. A little bit of love were enclosed in those letters I sent your mother, because I still love her till this day. She would send me pictures of you while you were growing up, and I would frame those pictures along my walls… you haven't really grown much." Sure, it was a joke, one thrown in the middle of a serious conversation, but Kio was never the one who could stay serious for too long. He felt it did the right thing, because he could swear he saw the faintest of smiles grace Yugi's lips – but it didn't last too long.

"I was so… so devastated when I heard on the news about your death. My telephone would ring off the hook about it; it got so annoying I had to rip the cord out of the wall. I went to the funeral, totally expecting you to be there, so I could finally take you back with me. I knew it was what your mother would want, pretty much because she told me in her final letter. I still remember those words; your mother had a very neat way of handwriting. Dotting her 'I's' with hearts… curling her 'u's'. She told me, in that final letter, that if she were ever to leave this earth, she wanted me to take you, so you to grow up with me by your side. I didn't know what she meant by that, if there were any hidden words… but with her final wishes in mind – I was intent on finding you."

"But I wasn't there…" Yugi whispered softly to himself, he couldn't meet his father's gaze – not now. His father didn't know the true story, apparently no one had ever told him. He didn't want to have to be the one who breaks the news, that during a struggle, he had interfered and killed his mother by accident.

How would his father take that?

He seemed like a kind, laid-back, always smiling type of man. But those were always the easiest ones to crack…

Yugi didn't want to lose his real father… not now… not ever.

"I was panicking, Yugi. I was over the moon because that day, I would finally have my little boy in my arms again. But when I went to look for you, your mother's parents… they just gave me this cold glare – they didn't even acknowledge me! - And went their way. I tried talking to Kyouske too… but he was intoxicated, not a lot… just a little, but he was still drunk. I hated that man since then, he had the audacity to get drunk during your mother's funeral! I wanted to punch him right there and then, but I didn't want a fight to break out."

"So, I thought, since I didn't see you at the funeral, I'd follow the return address on the mails your mother sent me, and went to look for you instead. But every time I would visit… that bastard would say 'Yugi? Who the fuck is Yugi? All I know is a slut, a really hot slut,' then close the door on my face…"

Kio continued his story… telling Yugi how, if he couldn't meet him at his own house, he would try the graveyard. Returning every year on Haruhi's death anniversary, just so he could see his little boy. Yugi was utterly speechless. What more could he have said, what more could have done? Here he was, for the past sixteen years, only thinking of his biological father as the man who abandoned his family. Who never even once looked back on that close door, ran back inside, and embraced his own wife and kid.

He always blamed Kio for what happened afterwards.

But not now, now Yugi was remorseful, hating himself for ever thinking that his real father never cared – because it was pretty obvious by now that Kio was always thinking about him… always trying to find an opportunity to bring him back.

Where did this leave them now?

"I won't force you, but… if you still want to: Would you like to come and stay with me? It won't have to be forever, not unless your comfortable with forever – even though forever's a really long time – aww jeez, I'm rambling. Let me get straight to the point: I want to make up for the ten years I spent away from you, Yugi, if you would give me the chance."

'He wants to… make up the years he's lost, with me?' Yugi couldn't explain the warm, fuzzy feeling that was developing in his stomach. He couldn't stop the small smile that was spreading across his lips either. But… what about Yami? 'I can't just leave him… not like this… I-I have to tell Kio no…'

"Yugi, don't even think about it." Yami said, as if he just read Yugi's thoughts. Even though mind reading is impossible, Yami could read all of Yugi's thoughts and emotions on his face. "You're with me all the time… you need to be with your father right now. This is for you, so do it. I'll call you every night, and I'll see you at school everyday. We'll hang out in-between when we're free – it's not like we're moving to different areas of the world, you'll still be in the country, you'll still be in my heart." He leaned forward slowly, placing a warm kiss on Yugi's forehead. Kio raised an eyebrow at this, an amused smile on his face, but said nothing more. "That's all that matters."

With Yami's needed approval, Yugi agreed to Kio's wishes. Kio was pretty much over the moon at this and pulled the younger teen into a bone-crushing hug.

"You won't regret this, Yugi! I'll make things right again… I promise."

+Save the Innocent: Good things come to those who wait, Bad things can happen too+

+A few weeks later…+

Anzu slipped on her fish-net until it rested nicely on her thigh. She adjusted her headband, making sure it didn't leave any hairs clumped up, and fastened a bobby pin into her bun. The brunette smiled devilishly into the mirror, today was the day she would take Yami.

Searching through her purse, she pulled out a zip-lock bag she had received from Duke the night before. 'Really, he's such an idiot, he has no respect for anything and just willingly hands me these…' she held the bag up in the air, eyeing with sick amusement, 'Not that that's an issue though.'

Anzu slipped on her shoes, standing up so she could straighten everything out on her maid's dress. Today was the perfect day to put her plan in action. The school festival was taking place all this week, and the teachers would be too busy keeping the delinquents in line to care about anything else that happened the next seven days.

Her class was in charge of the Maid Café, they were expected to gain a lot of costumers during the next few days since they were the class with the most attractive people. Attractive people in maid costumes just has that certain… thing… that makes people want to come in and buy pastries and coffee and sit around all day.

She stuffed the zip-lock into one of her apron's pocket and made the final adjustments to her hair. She had to look absolutely perfect, because her Yami would expect nothing but the best.

+Save the Innocent+

"Come on, Yami, Yugi's art exhibition doesn't start till another hour. Relax and let's have some tea!" Jou forcibly dragged him towards the café in the middle of the school.

"I don't want any damn tea, Jou, I want my Yugi!" he was suffering from Yugi withdrawal. Ever since Yugi moved in with his father, his promise of calling Yugi every night dwindled down to once every other day. It wasn't any of their faults, it was just that ever since then, and Kio had been taken them out to different places, attempting to grow more in their relationship. Hell, he even took Yugi all the way to Tokyo so he could visit his grandfather.

That was a lovely reunion…

"You know for a fact that Yugi has no time to see you. He's too busy getting ready for his show, so calm the fuck down and drink some tea." The blonde ordered, dropping Yami down on a chair, while he took another seat across from him. He brought the menu up to his face, blocking out Yami's protests and rambles. 'How Yugi deals with him, I'll never know.'

After a while, Yami's protests dwindled down and he finally was calm enough to actually order something. Green tea with a side of chocolate mousse cake, a real treat that he couldn't wait to dig into. Jou, on the other hand, decided to have a chocolate shake, with a chocolate pie, topped with chocolate ice-cream. How Jou retained his slim figure, Yami would never know…

The maid, who took their order, went to the back room where all the other maids were stationed, before handing the order to Anzu – who was the assistant chef for the day.

"Who's this for?" Anzu asked, and she was directed towards the blonde and crimson eyed teen in the front almost instantly. 'Perfect!' she took off her gloves and excitedly asked the chef if she could handle this delivery herself. Of course, the chef was a sucker for all things women, and let her do her own thing.

When the dishes were done, Anzu hurried herself outside where the two were seated, discretely adding in the powder into Yami's drink. She smirked, this was all too perfect, the only thing was – Jou was still sitting there, chatting animatedly to the bored looking teen. How the hell was she going to get Yami alone?

As if some weird sense of fate answered her, Kaiba appeared, grabbing Jou by the arm in an attempt to walk around the festival together. Jou couldn't say no because well, Kaiba had this death grip on the blonde's arm and any sense of rebellion could result in him losing that said arm. With a flimsy goodbye wave with his free arm, Jou was dragged around the corner, lost forever until the day was done.

Yami relaxed into his chair, staring at the table below him, as he waited for his food.

"I'm sorry for the long wait, Yami-kun; I hope you're not too angry." Anzu giggled. She placed the cup of tea, along with the cake, on the table before she seated herself across from Yami. The brunette blatantly ignored the cold glare she was receiving from the crimson-eyed teen. 'Because soon, the only stares he'll be giving me are those of lust.' She laughed to herself silently; Yami was completely at her mercy.

"I didn't know you worked here, Anzu." Yami was a gentlemen, was grown up to be one due to his family stature, so it was common nature to strike up mild conversation. But no one said you had to add any emotions to your dialogue. The crimson-eyed teen was hoping he could finish his meal off quickly, and then run off to meet Yugi before his big exhibition.

"Hn! My class chose to do the Maid Café this year, so who was I to say no?" she, ever-so-discreetly, slid a slim finger up Yami's arm.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" he bit out harshly; removing his hand the minute Anzu's cold to the touch finger graced his skin. Didn't she know he was already taken by Yugi? Was she that much lost in her own insane fantasies that she would so obviously make a move on him?

Why yes… yes she was.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself!" Anzu giggled like it was nothing too serious; her eyes were always taking glances at that untouched cup. 'Drink already!' her mind screamed. "Look, Yami-kun, I didn't come here just to flirt, I wanted to stand my ground with you… and Yugi's relationship," a cold glare over took her normally bright, blue eyes at the mention of Yugi's name; but it quickly went away, "because I know I don't have a chance. I just want to try things out again, and see if we could become… friends… maybe?" she smiled as sweetly as she could, hoping Yami would fall into the bait… ease down his defenses and trust her.

"Anzu, I'm sorry, but we could never be friends. You and Yugi have an… iffy past, I understand that. I know what happened between you two, everything, and I know you still have bitter grudges against him. I'm not going to become friends with someone who hates my boyfriend, without even knowing what really happened that night, and tries to scare the living daylights out of him just for the sake of a 'revenge'… it's just not going to happen." With that, he folded his arms across his chest and crossed his legs. Satisfied with his answer and glaring at Anzu; daring her to say anything else.

Here's where years of acting experience start to pay off.

"You're right… it was stupid of me for even suggesting such a thing." She let her head hang low, the few pieces of hair that weren't put into a bun fell around her face; casting a shadow. Anzu let her head suspend there for awhile, before looking up with a bright and cheerful smile. "At least drink some tea, Green Tea is my specialty, you know."

Yes, Yami couldn't really stand being in the same area as Anzu, but it was rude to turn down an invitation to a drink. Without little hesitation, he brought the cold cup to his lip and took a long sip of the tea. The minute the liquid ran down his throat, he felt something was off. The tea burned, more than it should have since it had been sitting at the table for only a few moments. It made his throat feel all itchy, and he had to fight off the impulse to throw up. 'What is in this drink?'

The cup fell from his hands, as he gripped his throat and gagged uncontrollably, attracting the attention of the other maids and waiters, and even a few customers as well. On the inside, Anzu was smirking victoriously – her plan was working out perfectly.

"Sir, are you alright? You look terribly pale," the head maid gently rubbed circles on the Egyptian's back, but it wasn't helping as much.

"Oh my God, Yami!" Anzu quickly stood up, her chair toppling over, as she ran over to Yami's side. She placed a cool hand against Yami's forehead, smirking to herself as he felt his body temperature increasing bit by bit…

"Anzu, what happened?"

"I think it must have been something in the tea… I'll go take him to the nurse right away." Anzu wrapped one of her arms around his waist, and rested one of his around her shoulder. "If a boy names Yugi comes by, please tell to look for Yami at the nurse's office." The nurse nodded rapidly, walking off to calm down everyone else.

Anzu arrived at the nurse's office in no time, and just her luck – the nurse was out on break. She rested Yami on the small cot, stroking a few pieces of hair away from his sweating, scrunched up face. Anzu licked her dried lips; the mere thoughts were swarming through her head of what she could get away with…

"Hot… too fucking hot…" Yami groaned, restlessly tossing and turning in the cot.

"Don't worry, Yami… I'll help you out." Her shaking fingers unclasped the buttons one by one on Yami's school jacket before a warm, tanned hand grabbed onto her own.

"Kiss… me... Yugi…,"

It wasn't the reaction she was expecting, but she wasn't going to pass up this chance. For now, she was Yami's illusion, and she was happy to let him live in ignorance. Their lips collided, Yami's tongue running along her bottom lip, begging for entrance – who was she to say no?

+Save the Innocent+

"Jou, finally I've found you!" Yugi ran across the courtyard to where Kaiba and Jou were sharing a hearty amount of blue cotton candy. After two hours of being mauled by the school newspaper, yearbook, and the president of the art club, Yugi was finally allowed to go outside and enjoy himself.

"Ay, Yug, mat's up?" Jou quickly swallowed his last piece of cotton candy. He gave Yugi a toothy grin before grabbing Kaiba's untouched cotton candy and devouring that as well.

"Have you guys seen Yami anywhere? We were supposed to meet by the front gates so we could walk around the festival but… he wasn't there." He let out a sad sigh, he'd been waiting all day for this and Yami never showed! To say he was crushed would be an understatement.

"Last time I saw him, he was sitting at the Maid's Café, pissed off because he couldn't see you sooner." That stamen brought a smile to Yugi's face. He quickly nodded and thanks before running off into the direction of the café.

_Later…_

"Oh, you're Yugi-kun! If you're looking for Yami, it seems he was suffering from an attack, a reaction to something in his drink. One of our kind maids took him to the nurse's office, you should find him there."

"Thank you!" Yugi quickly ran off into the direction of the nurse's office, his excitement fueling him on and blinding him from what he was about to walk in on. "Yami-!"

"-Ahh, f-faster, Yami-kun, right there! Aah… oh fuck yes… ahh…" Anzu moaned as Yami continually rammed in to her sweet spot, her nails clawing at his tan back, leaving red marks on the rich skin.

Yugi dropped to the floor, his body shaking, his hands clasping against his mouth while he held back sobs. He couldn't believe it… he didn't want to believe it. He hoped it was just a dream, some warped up image of that his mind created…

But he knew it was real, the moans, the sounds of the bed creaking, the pants… they all made this twisted illusion into a reality – Yami was having sex with Anzu…

**Run, Yugi, just fucking run… **

But he couldn't… his legs were glued to the floor, his body wouldn't listen. Yugi didn't even argue with Daisuke's constant yelling about getting the fuck out of there, but his eyes remained glued on the scene in front of him.

Anzu opened one of her eyes, her head sloppily rolling to the left as she caught sight of Yugi. She smirked, a smirk that made Yugi's blood turn cold, and caused him to shakily stand up and run out the room, out of the school, onto the road, where his body collapsed, and he was face to face with his step father Kyouske.

"'Ookie what I found… Swut! I knew I fwind you… com on, we got'ah lot of fwucking up to do!"

Yugi didn't resist when Kyouske sloppily grabbed onto his arm, and dragged him away, down the street and through an alleyway back to that accursed game shop, where housed on top was that damned home… where Yugi would once again be brought to, to be mercilessly fucked, stripped of his identity, of his morals, of his will of living… until he was an empty shell of a boy…

+Innocent: It only takes so little… to break something fragile+

* * *

I'm so evil... I'M SORRY GUYS D: hides in a corner- but this is angst you know... and I thought this chapter was a good make up for not updating in a while...

And dealing with Haruhi's family background, I wasn't going to get into that too deeply. To be simple - Crime lord's daugther who eloped with Kio and they hate him for taking his precious daughter away! There probably was a lot of drama invovled but ehhh... who knows... I could probably write that as a one shot O_O.

And just so you all know, Kyouske was loiterring around near the school looking for Yugi, that's why he appears.

I hope, if there were any confusions, this clears them up :D.

Kaiba: Why would you need to address all this...? I'm pretty sure they would have found out by themselves.

Me: ... Just shut up alright o.e. I explain to explain XP. I hope you all enjoyed chapter 16, I'll promise to get 17 out quicker but when... I have no idea :D.

Till next time !

-Disappears in a cloud of smoke- o.o.


	17. Chapter 17

Wow... alot of feedback on the last chapter, I'm frankly quite shocked. Yes, it was very evil of me to allow that to happen, but hopefully this chapter makes up for it. I pretty much listened to music the whole time I wrote this - b/c it sorta of made writing this move more... smoothly... like a river yo o.o - and then after that, I started to listen to Yugioh Abridged while writing this...

Kind of ironic if you really think of it.

Anywho, I hope this chapter doesn't make you all hate me D:, b/c I know I must be on some of your hitlists now after that last chapter... Haaaa... o.o.

**Warning: There's a slight rape scene, it doesn't go into too much detail, so no worries. A lot of coarse langauge, but honestly, if you were in this situation I don't think you'd be all that worried about being proper and saying nice and ladylike words.**

I won't talk as much, mostly because you all want to read the latest update and because I really don't know what to say O_O. Shocker I know.

Read and Enjoy (:

* * *

+Save the Innocent: I'm broken, on the inside and out+

+Yami's POV+

_My head, it hurts, but it's a dull aching pain. My whole body's caked in sweat and my mind's covered by this weird haze that I can't shake off. I can barely see the image of my little Yugi…_

_His face is covered in a shadow, but I could still see his shiny, crystal-like, tears streaming down the sides of his face. Yugi's body is shaking violently… but why? Why is my Aibou in so much pain?_

_Shouldn't he be happy? Didn't we finally just connect?_

_We've been talking about sex for a while now, and finally we've made love – but why does he look so devastated?_

_The haze is clearing…_

_A cold smirk, triumphant in power, chilling to the bone in force, is so clearly plastered on this girl's face as she continues to stare at Yugi, my crying Yugi. Her blue eyes are sparkling with sick amusement… I've seen those blue eyes somewhere before, but where?_

_She's panting my name, I feel so disgusted I could throw up, my stomach's churning and the world's spinning. My body's not listening to me, it keeps on ramming into her over and over and over again without ever slowing down, into this foreign body beneath me…_

_Yugi's trembling… violently shaking as his body falls to the floor. His sobs rip at my heart strings, but they get dulled down by the moans, the panting… the haze. I want to stop; I want to run over to my little one and scoop him up in my arms, wiping away each and every tear that falls down his face._

_He's just sitting on the ground, crying, and for some strange reason – there's nothing I can do to stop it._

_That cold, ugly, smirk appears again, and this time he runs out of the room – faster than I can say stop, faster than I can actually get up and do something. I try to scream his name, but it comes out in a hoarse, throated, pant. Sharp finger nails claw at my back mercilessly, drawing small amounts of blood, and cold, chapped lips press against my own._

_I'm so repulsed, so utterly nauseated, that I want to puke right there and then, but instead I let the blackness take over me…_

+Normal POV+

The blanket of confusion lingered over Yami's mind, refusing to let up. His head was throbbing painfully against his skull and he had to fight off the urge to faint and puke. He didn't remember anything at all; well… anything after he drank that blasted tea.

'Why am I in the nurse's office…?' he didn't remember how he got there, he had absolutely no idea why he was naked either; the fear, the confusion, and the alarm were growing steadfast. Yami had to get out of there, he had to find Yugi, for he had this weird, nagging feeling, in the back of his mind that something was terribly wrong.

A body stirred next to him, and it took all his willpower not to push the body away. It was snuggling closer, trying to obtain any warmth his sticky body would produce – he wasn't going to have anything of that. Yami pushed the body away, but it kept coming back, feebly whining and squirming under the sheets… and that's when he felt it – a chest… a very, broad, well-defined, chest.

"What the hell?" he screamed, jumping up from the cot and pulling the sheets along with him. His breath was coming out in pants, his heartbeat was kicking up a few notches as more and more confusion seeped through his veins. "What the fuck is going on here?"

"Ne, haven't you ever heard of 'basking in the afterglow'?"

Yami silently raised a slight eyebrow, staring at Anzu's naked body, then his own, then back at Anzu's proud smirk she showed off like it was some new designer purse. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened between those two, the only thing Yami couldn't figure out was: How? How had he been so messed up as to fuck Anzu, the girl that was practically out for Yugi's blood every second of every day?

And that's when his mind drifted back to the tea. That blasted Green tea he had ordered just a few hours ago, the tea Anzu wanted him to drink right before he passed out. Then, his dream came back into his mind. Yugi crying, Anzu smirking, Yami continually ramming into Anzu's body – everything became so much clearer now, the blanket of confusion was finally being lifted off of Yami's mind.

Anzu had drugged Yami.

He couldn't even look at Anzu, nor stare at that bed where he was literally forced to have sex with this… this complete and utter psychopath of a woman! He was just so utterly disgusted with her, and even with himself, that he had to get out of this room as fast as possible. Without another word, Yami stood up from the cot and hurriedly looked for his missing clothing. He hoped, no he literally prayed, that he'd be able to find Yugi in time to explain things, to wipe away those tears that were probably still streaming down his face at this very moment. Then, he was going to find Kaiba and send that Anzu's conniving ass to jail for everything that she had done, for every single ounce of pain she had caused for their relationship, for all the cracks she had just created that had pretty much shattered Yugi's heart into little pieces.

No, death was not, and would never be, a good atonement for Anzu's deeds as sad as it sounds. But Yami knew that seeing Anzu sent off to jail for this would be much more satisfying, and a lot less messy, than killing her in cold blood.

Even though he wasn't against it entirely.

"Yami-kun, where are you going?" Anzu quickly stood up from the cot, her legs a little wobbly from her recent session but it wasn't anything too bad. A slight, dull, pain echoed through her backside. 'Jesus, he's a fucking animal when drugged,' she ran over to Yami's side and hooked their arms together.

Yami was immediately repulsed by the sudden gesture and yanked his arm free from Anzu's grasp. "Don't you fucking touch me," he replied coldly, buttoning his shirt as fast as he possibly could. The faster he got dressed, the quicker he could get to Yugi.

"You really don't get the whole 'after sex' thing. Do you, Yami-kun?"

Yami turned to gaze at her eyes. Cold, dark, menacing crimson eyes stared into sparkling, smug, and seemingly content blue eyes. Was she serious? Did she seriously call what they had just done sex? It was no where near as blissful and wonderful as sex should be. It was down right fucking, a dirty, disgraceful, where no love is ever involved in, form of the act. To be even more specific, what had just happened could have been deemed as rape since he was practically drugged into this.

He didn't say another word, he couldn't say another word, for the fear of him exploding on her was just too much for him to handle. Yami didn't want to converse with this… this slut, for more than he had to. He just wanted to get out of thr nurse's room, the one that reeked of sweat, of body fluids… of sex. The stench was overwhelming, it made Yami want to gag. The room was spinning, his focus was slipping, but the sole intent on finding his little Aibou was more than enough to keep him in line.

The crimson eyed teen brushed passed the brunette, walking towards the door that separated him from the outside world. Anzu stood there, naked, sweaty, somewhat sore and flabbergasted. Was he seriously just going to walk out on here like that? Did he not know who she was? Did he not realize that they were meant to be together, not him and that little freak Yugi? Furious and a tad bit insane, Anzu stalked over to Yami, grabbing him by the collar and crashing their lips together, hoping that this little kiss would be enough of a wake up call.

Her mind was far from deranged by this point.

"My God, Puppy. I told you not to run that fast. Don't you ever listen to me?" a voice could be heard from the outside, a voice that Yami recognized quite clearly – his freedom, his saviors, were only a mere few feet away.

"Shut up, you asshole! You should have warned me there was a 'Caution: Wet' sign in the hallway!" Jou growled angrily. Their footsteps were getting closer and closer and closer, but Anzu's lips were pushing harder and harder against his own. The drug was still in affect, so Yami still wasn't up to his full strength, if this weren't the case he would have pushed Anzu off of him as quickly as she came on and run towards the door.

"I did warn you," Kaiba deadpanned. The door separating Yami and themselves was slowly opening.

Yami could feel the relief, and a slow steady of strength, flowing through him. Feeling a tad bit stronger, Yami struggled to pull off the annoying leech that kept on insisting for another round, one she'd never receive anytime soon. "Get off of me!" Yami screamed, using his last few remains of strength to push off his attacker.

Jou broke off from his banter with Kaiba and turned his attention towards the two people that were currently in the nurse's office. The pain from his bleeding knee was quickly dulled down as anger and confusion took over the intense feeling of the injury.

"What the hell is going on here?"

+Save the Innocent: Misconceptions, Lies, Pain, and Retribution+

Sharp teeth gnawed into the reddening skin of his son. Kyouske bit and he chewed until he was drawing out a nice stream of blood from his beautiful slut's neck. His smirk was insane, sloppy and cruel as his sandpaper-like tongue lapped at the scarlet red liquid that seeped through Yugi's flesh.

The pain of the teeth meant nothing to Yugi. The pain of the metal chains rubbing against his raw wrist never registered to the small teen. Kyouske's constant, careless; movements as he rammed his hardened cock in and out of Yugi's abused hole meant absolutely nothing to Yugi. It was like the little teen wasn't even there anymore; nothing really mattered without his Yami.

Or what he thought was his Yami.

But how could he have reacted differently to the situation? It was so farfetched, so unrealistic, never had he ever imagined the day he would see Yami embracing Anzu like two animals in heat. The chances of that ever happening were next to nothing, yet it really did happen, right before his eyes. And now, everything around him felt so surreal, everything was like a never-ending dream. The type of dream that you find yourself walking through over and over again in expanse darkness where the only thoughts you have are: "When am I going to wake up?"

But, this wasn't a dream he could just wake up from in bed, snuggled up into Yami's chest, with small tears clouding his vision. Those small, crystal, tears would then be wiped away by his lover and he would fall into the heat and love of the touch while he explained to Yami the reason for his tears.

That would never happen, not for a long time.

"Slut, you're so t-tight," Kyouske panted, his mind already too far gone from the affects of the alcohol and his jerky hip movements to say anymore than those feeble four words. Each thrust was harder and more painful than the last. Yugi's moans erupted into screams, but they seemed more forced than normal as his consciousness hovered between being awake, and falling into the tempted blackness that was calling out to him.

**Yugi let me take over right now! **

_No._

**No? No! Are you serious? Yugi, he's tearing you apart with each thrust, you're internally bleeding, and anymore damage would just be down right fatal!**

_I don't care._

**Look, I know you're devastated, I know you're in so much pain you just can't bear it. But letting this deranged man rape you for his own enjoyment is **not **going to change a thing. **

_If you understand that much, then leave me alone._

**DAMMIT, YUGI! STOP ESCAPING REALITY ALREADY!**

_NO! JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!_

Yugi never cursed, either accidently or intentionally. Never had a small swear word ever escaped Yugi's now abused and bleeding lips, until this day. Daisuke was too shock, and just to lost in the hopelessness of it all, that he escaped into the further reaches of Yugi's mind.

The battle had been lost, it was lost the minute Daisuke had ever voiced his concern – and he knew that very well. But he couldn't just sit there, while he was literally sitting through a rape taking place. Daisuke felt every thrust, every tear, every heartstring being ripped, every bite, and every surge of pain that Yugi experienced – the only difference was that he had more of a tolerance towards it. It would have been much simpler if Yugi had just blacked out, then he could just take on the pain and pray to God that Kyouske would get bored after awhile and leave him be, long enough for his body to start recuperating. Yet, Yugi was somehow clinging onto his consciousness, making it just as harder for Daisuke to come out and takeover.

For now, all he could do was sit and watch. If he had his own two hands and feet, his own body, his own pair of eyes, he was certain, without a doubt, that he'd be sitting in the corner; crying.

+Save the Innocent: We're at our weakest when we can't do a thing to help+

"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Yami! Why are you naked with this… this… slut?" Jou was to angry, too caught up in his spiraling emotions, that he could really care less that he was cursing up a storm. He grabbed Yami by the collar and pushed him back against the wall, his fist only a mere few inches away from Yami's flinching face. Here he was, Yami, Jou's new best friend, the guy who he had the upmost trust in with Yugi's well being. Now, he had just walked in on Anzu, lying on the floor naked, and Yami, whose clothes were disheveled as if he was just carelessly putting on his clothes back minutes before.

Kaiba chose to stay near the door, his cold cobalt eyes boring holes into Anzu's. The girl just grinned lazily in return. To her; this was all in her favor. She had gotten what she wanted: Having sex with Yami and breaking Yugi from the inside out. What more could she have asked for? Sure, Yami was probably about to get beaten to a pulp, but that could have easily been consoled with a little love from her. Whatever sick and twisted love that could be…

The brunette was equally angry, but not so angry at Yami, but more angry at the naked girl that was grinning so smugly on the floor. He knew for a fact that Yami would never, in his right mind, do something as heinous as to go behind Yugi's back and have sex with Anzu – the girl who set her whole life around making Yugi's life a living hell. There had to be something more to this, and Kaiba was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Yami, give me one good reason why I shouldn't let my puppy loose on you right now." His voice was demanding, cold, void of emotion and rightfully so. This was not the time to joke around, if his whole view on Yami was wrong, he was going to let Jou have his way with his cousin – and the blonde could give one hell of a punch when he wanted to. But, if Yami really was truly innocent, all fingers would be pointed to Anzu, and she would be suffering a world of pain…

"I was drugged," Yami stared dead on with Kaiba, allowing the brunette to search his eyes. He couldn't read anything from his cousin's steel expression, but he was confident Kaiba would see the truth in his eyes. If not, to put it bluntly, he would be screwed.

Kaiba wordlessly walked over to Yami and Jou's side, wrapping his cool fingers around Jou's fist and gently pulling the balled up hand down. "He's telling the truth," Kaiba stated simply, glaring at Anzu who looked like she was losing some of her smugness.

"Are you fucking serious, Kaiba? How the hell would you know that? She's _naked; _Kaiba, naked, and you expect me to believe that Yami did what he did because he was drugged!"

"Listen to yourself, Jou," Kaiba was dead serious, never had he called Jou by his real name unless the situation deemed otherwise. "You're allowing your rage to blind you. Do you honestly believe that Yami would do anything to hurt Yugi? If so, I was completely and utterly wrong about you."

With that last comment, Jou allowed his anger to subside as he glanced over to Yami. The teen was brooding, biting onto his bottom lip with his fists clenched on either side. The blonde could see that this was tearing Yami apart more than anything. The crimson eyed teen's body shook with both anger, but not only that, it shook with sadness, as Jou could see him holding back his sobs.

"Ha," Anzu scoffed bitterly, picking herself off the floor as she wrapped a blanket around her naked body. "You didn't act like you were drugged when we were-,"

"-You're sick, you're really sick," Yami muttered, breaking off Anzu's taunt and leaving everyone slightly speechless. The teen was about to explode the tension and stress in the air proved that pretty well. Kaiba had only seen Yami fully angry once, and that was when he immigrated to America after his parental issues back in Egypt. That was the last time he hoped he'd ever seen the crimson eyed teen angered again. "Just because of your twisted jealousy over Yugi, you think you can just go around and mess up with his life as you please. Listen to yourself, look at yourself, do you not see the situation you're in! You think that, just by drugging me, just by breaking Yugi, you've accomplished your warped up version of revenge, but in reality you haven't!" he stared Anzu dead in the eye, the emotion of anything but pure anger was left in his eyes. "After I find my Yugi, after I scoop my little aibou in my arms, this will only make us stronger, closer, than we ever were. You will never win, Anzu, never. Drugging me was a low and dirty trick, one that backfired terribly."

Anzu froze; she didn't have a suitable comeback for that. Her fingernails gripped into the white sheet that was currently wrapped around her body. Why was it that every time she would go after Yugi, things never seemed to change? She never felt the great satisfaction of a well deserved victory, all she felt was an empty coldness that left her wanted to hurt Yugi more, so she could finally have that earned winning feeling.

She scoffed, holding onto whatever slim confidence she had left. "Do you have any proof that I drugged you, Yami-kun? As far as anyone else here is concerned, _I'm _the one naked here, _you're _the one that's the male in all of this, if the situation was ever brought to court, who do you think the fingers would be pointed at hm?" she smirked as she saw both Yami's and Jou's bodies go frigid, the exact reaction she was hoping for. "You'd be the one going in handcuffs, heading off to jail for rape while I'd be home free. Face it Yami-kun, there's no way you could win."

A heavy silence fell upon the room; the air was thick, because it was true. There really was no proof, nothing to claim any innocence on Yami. Yes, Jou and Kaiba would defend Yami to the end, and Kaiba was a very influential person, but they didn't witness what had happened, they had just appeared at the wrong time. Without any evidence that proved Anzu had done anything, going to court was futile.

But, fate always has a funny way of turning things around.

The door slowly slid open, and the head maid from the café stepped through, a look of distraught on as she grasped onto a cup with her shaking hand. Anzu's eyes landed on the cup, and they widened significantly, she cursed mentally and searched for a quick way that would lead to the destruction of that blasted cup. She recognized that sole piece of incriminating evidence because it was the only cup that had golden swirls engraved on the surface.

Anzu's last few bars of confidence started to plummet.

The nurse looked up from the cup, her eyes widened from shock on what she walked into. She quickly shook her head of any thoughts that involved walking away. "I'm sorry to have…interrupted, but… we found something strange in the drink Yami-kun drank before he… had an attack."

"Is that so?" Kaiba quirked an eyebrow, a new sense of hope was slowly flowing through him. He swiftly walked over towards the made and politely took the cup out of her hands. He examined the blackening liquid and was amazed to see tiny white specks of powder floating around in the cup.

"It seems like this drink was laced with some kind of… odorless substance that we never would have found if one of our workers hadn't noticed it beforehand." She sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair; the stress was causing her hair to break out in split ends. "How this thing ever got into this drink, I'll never know," but with that comment, her eyes instantly fell upon Anzu's shaking body. The brunette visibly gulped, she should have dumped the cup out when she had the chance!

"Thank you very much for showing this to us, you've helped greatly." Kaiba nodded and smiled politely, the stress lessened slightly off the head maid, "Now then, could you kindly do us the favor and bring us the principle and tell him to report to the nurse's office, and while you're at it… call the police."

The maid gave a short nod and quickly ran out of the room to follow out her instructions. Kaiba turned towards the shaking form that was Anzu, her grip on the blanket was so tight, and her nails were ripping through the fabric. The fear of her actions was finally settling in, but now it was too late to take things back.

"T-The police, they won't believe you! They'll-,"

"-Are you still playing the dumb card?" Yami scoffed bitterly. Seriously, this was all turning ridiculous now. She still insisted on acting like she was the innocent one, not him. "It's over, Anzu, now you have to deal with your mistakes."

But in reality… it wasn't really over, it was only the beginning.

* * *

Ha! Anzu get's a big kick to the shins! Just like she deserved, ne?

Next chapter, the police will be brought in, so will Kio, and a little more... angsty stuff thrown inbetween. Thank you to all of you that have reviewed (: I love you allllll sooooooo muchhhhhh. You're all so fly like a G6 ;D. That's my saying for that week, that, and calling people awkward animals.

For example, "Geez, you're such an awkward turtle!" or "My God, you're sucn an awkward jellyfish." or maybeeee "YOU'RE AN AWKWARD LLAMA FER SURE!"

Yeah... I'm a weird one o.o.

Anywayyyzzz... I hope you all enjoyed chapter 17 (:. To my beta, wherever you are, come backkkkk D:.

Till next time (:


	18. Chapter 18

**I HOPE EVERYONE HAD A MERRY CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR! (:**

Alrighty guys, sorry if this was a long wait - but here's chapter 18 :D.

Thank you all so much for your reviews, I really appreciate them (:, they just make my day! :D.

This chapter is pretty long, and pretty intense too (in my opinion anyways o.o). Also, I will be referring to Yugi as Daisuke when the time comes, and then towards the end I just refer Yugi as Yugi... ha... Just explaining that so I don't get anyone _too _confused P: (I have a habit of doing that ALOT)

Anyway!

Read & Enjoy! :D

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+Save the Innocent: How can we save something, that doesn't wish to be saved?+

It hurt, every inch, every fiber, ever slight twitch or spasm of a muscle, sent inexplicable pain through out Yugi's small body. No matter how much he wanted to, the tears wouldn't come – they would never come for along time. He couldn't cry, even if he willed that little part of his brain to produce those tears, nothing would come. All he could do was just lie alone on the bed, covered by the blank darkness of the tiny room he was cramped in, with his body covered with bruises and cuts, blood and sweat, traces of white semen that were never wiped away.

His body reeked of sex, the cramped little room he was in – that the mattress could barely fit in – reeked of booze that stained the carpets in the room.

**Yugi… **

_(No response)._

**DAMMIT, YUGI, ANSWER ME!**

_What?_

Now that Daisuke actually got a hold of Yugi's attention, he was lost on what to say. In all honesty, Daisuke only called out Yugi's name because he couldn't stand the dead silence of it all. He couldn't stand to "see" Yugi like this; lost, alone, helpless. However, he did hope to talk some sense into Yugi, enough sense that the little teen would allow him to take over, but Daisuke knew Yugi was so bloody stubborn that, not without a lot of yelling, Yugi would probably just lie there, semi-conscious, on a very dirty bed.

… **You should have let me take over back there… **

_No…_

**Yugi, do you not see what sort of condition you're in? Kyouske left you half-dead here! I thank God that you're still alive and sort-of breathing, but you didn't have to go through all that pain!**

_What do you know? You don't understand a thing…_

**Oh really, Yugi? You think I don't understand what it's like to go through heartbreak? Nevertheless, I was created by you, so in some strange sense I **am **you! You created me to handle all the pain your bastard of a "father" put you through. Hence, any pain you suffered, I suffered with you, including pain from heartbreak, Yugi.**

… Yugi used the excuse of being too tired, to even retort to Daisuke's speech. Even if he had all the energy in the world, he wouldn't be able to have said anything to that statement anyways. So instead, he chose sat silently, trying his hardest to ignore the pain – and Daisuke's rants.

**Yugi, please, I'm here to help you not sit here like a lump on a freaking log! You created me for this, so let me do my job. Unless… wait! Are you, waiting, for Yami… to come and save you?**

Yugi still remained silent.

**Kid, I'm sorry to let you down here, but the chances of Yami saving you aren't very high at the moment. **

_How do you know? _

**Well, from what we witnessed a few hours ago, I'd say he's too busy to come here and rescue you-**

_-Don't say that! Yami… Yami will most definitely come! He… he has to…_

**And then what, Yugi? You can't escape reality anymore. You know what you walked in on, and as much as you can try and use the pain of Kyouske's…"touching"; the real pain – seeing Yami embracing Anzu – will never go away. I'm not saying Yami did that on purpose, because I know that the love he was for you is much stronger than any sexual urges could produce, but I just don't know. You just walked in at the wrong time, hence; you acted on pure emotions rather than common reason. **

_So I should have stayed? Is that what you're trying to tell me? That I should have just waited till Yami was finished ramming into Anzu before voicing my concern? _Each and every question held a bit of malice hidden beneath the words. He didn't want to sit through this conversation, he didn't want to listen to Daisuke's voice of reason – the only voice of reason he had at the moment. Yugi just wanted to hang on to the last feeble strand of hope that his Yami would come and save him, cradle him in his own pair of strong arms, and whisper in his ear that everything he had seen, everything he had just gone through, was all one twisted nightmare born from Yugi's fear.

But even Yugi knew that this was nowhere _near _a nightmare, but rather, a harsh reality.

**No, I'm not saying that, Yugi. What I am trying to say here is: Don't be foolish and lie here all day, you never know when Kyouske's going to rear that butt-ugly head of his. So let me take over, I can try to escape, it'll be very difficult mind you, but it's worth a shot. And if Kyouske does come around, and tries to rape you once again, I'll be taking the pain this time because honestly, Kid, any more of this torture and you'd probably… well… die. **

In Yugi's state of mind, dying seemed like an easy ticket out of this, but even so Yugi knew that would be a cowardly way of escaping things. Because, what if by some strange twist of fate, Yami really did come up and save him? Only to walk into a dead body of his former lover, then what would happen? No one would be happy, misconceptions would never be cleared… and Yugi would be separated from Yami forever – something he never wanted to happen, not now, not ever.

So, going with his better judgment, Yugi allowed himself to slip into the darkness, gaining Daisuke access of his body and mind for the moment. If Yugi's vocal chords weren't seriously overused, and if Daisuke wanted to cause Kyouske to come up to the small room housing Yugi – which he most certainly _didn't_ – Daisuke would have cheered over his accomplishment. Now all he had to do was get Yugi a safe distance away from the house, but that task was pretty difficult in itself.

First, he'd have to make it passed Kyouske in his deranged state, while Yugi's body was in searing pain, before he could even think of gracing his fingers over the cool metal doorknob that would lead him to the outside world – to freedom. Next, he'd have to find someplace to hide, but he wouldn't get too far in his messed up condition, and he most certainly couldn't go anywhere practically butt-naked. That would most certainly be an…embarrassing situation to say the least, but it would get a lot of attention (since Yugi's neighborhood was basically a line of various shops, some holding houses, others not) and hopefully draw suspicion. How Kyouske ever managed to get away with this for years was beyond Daisuke's comprehension. Anyway, after, and if, Daisuke managed to get away from the scene unscathed, he'd have to link up with Yami _some_how but the chances of that happening were, like he stated early, less than likely.

However, a guy's gotta try right?

So, using the minor strength he had – his mental strength was pretty strong compared to Yugi's but since he was using the little one's body, his physical strength was lacking greatly – he slowly sat up, wincing from the sudden surge of pain that shook his body and almost sent him flopping back on the bed, and tried to asses any further damage he probably overlooked earlier.

'A few bruises,' he willed his hand to follow the paths of any stained blood left on Yugi's body, 'a couple of stains,' his hand continued to journey up and around Yugi's stained body. 'Cuts, pain just about everywhere,' finally he examined his own wrists, that were thankfully unlatched from his metal chains, and frowned at the reddening and irritation the abused skin was producing. 'That's going to be annoying to deal with.' He thought with a very sad certainty.

"No use just sitting here," Daisuke whispered to himself alone, his eyes quickly getting adjusted to the darkness and his nose getting used to the overwhelming stench one small room could produce. Deciding that he should probably at least get himself somewhat cleaned, especially his… insides. While using most of his strength, he was able to at least get two of his feet on the floor, mumbling an inaudible curse as his feet stepped onto a wet stain – more or less from a broken beer bottle that contents had spilled out over some form of tirade.

'Just another thing to clean up,' he thought with a sigh, but he couldn't just sit there all day and mull! Propping one hand on the bed for support, and wincing at the additional force that was placed on his bruised wrist, he took his time on getting up, wobbling only slightly when he was finally upright.

Everything got dizzy quickly, the room was spinning and Daisuke had to resist the urge to throw up. Yugi's body was conflicting with his mind, but he didn't have time to synergize right now. So, he just forced whatever contents were trying to come up, down, and walked very carefully, one foot after another, towards the door and to the shower.

+Save the Innocent+

The police cars were scattered mindlessly along the school grounds, like some little kid had just forgotten to put away his toy cars. Cops were littering the hallways, and school – along with the festival – was ended early due to the appearance of authorities.

Yami, Jou, Kaiba, Anzu – who was fully clothed and sitting in a chair between two, less-than-happy cops – the head maid, and the principal were all sitting in the library, assessing over the situation and asking questions when the need arrived.

"So, Yami Atemu is it?" Yami nodded wordlessly to the detective, who seemed to be in charge at the moment, as the man quickly scribbled some things into a spiral notepad. "You're saying that this lady, Anzu Mazaki, drugged you?" Another nod from the crimson-eyed teen and more notes being scribbled down, "And then what?"

Yami couldn't deny the fact that there were swarms of butterflies going around in a mad frenzy inside his belly. He also couldn't deny the fact that the detective's hard and unemotional stare was sending him into nervous jitters, but he had to go through this, the truth had to be told to someone! The authorities were going to lock Anzu up, and throw away the key if all went smoothly – and they would since Yami and the rest had some pretty solid evidence against her.

"Well, Sir, after that, all I remember is waking up naked and next to Anzu," he sent a glare towards the brunette's way, but she only looked away, sticking her nose in the air with an air of arrogance. "She… she drugged me so," he let a shudder run through his body as the fuzzy memories of what had happen only a few hours ago were running through his mind: His body uncontrollably ramming into Anzu's and his aibou… his sweet, loving Yugi, on the floor shaking from heart-wrenching sobs. The thoughts were causing him to lose some of his composure. "So I could… sleep with her."

The detective hadn't missed the boy's attempt at hiding his own pain; his body language was a dead giveaway that the recent events had shaken him to the core. He could that his friends were dually concerned for his wellbeing, as the blonde pulled him into a hug, stroking his back in a comforting manner. While the brunette, who seemed to have a hard exterior on the outside, also was holding a strong sense of concern for the crimson eyed teen.

"Ms. Mazaki, mind if I ask why you would drug Mr. Atemu?" the detective threw an accusing glance towards the brunette. He was taught to be unbiased in situations such as these, but at the moment the brunette was trying too hard to act _not _guilty and pretending to know nothing about this, that it was becoming more painstakingly obvious that Anzu was, indeed, the culprit.

"I don't have to answer anything," she replied coldly. She sent a glare towards the detective, challenging him to say something else.

He gladly accepted that challenge. "Ms. Mazaki, may I remind you anything you answer here, you will be forced to answer under a court of law. So, either way, it's either answer my questions now and save some of your innocence, or just accept the handcuffs," he bit right back at her the same amount of coldness she had sent to him. He could handle these situations pretty well, when you had a less-than-cooperative person on your hands – that was his job after all.

"Hmph! I didn't do anything Yami-kun didn't like."

"You're kidding me right?" Jou suddenly sprang up from his chair, ignoring the protests from Kaiba, and balled his fists dangerously towards the smug looking brunette. "Does this look like a man who just enjoyed banging the living daylights out of someone!" he pointed his finger towards Yami, who was desperately trying hard to hold onto his composure and not break down. "Stop being such a fucking idiot already, Yami was never yours, he never will be! You're just twisted on your bent up version of revenge-,"

"-And why can't Yami be mine, huh?" Anzu spat back just as venomously. She was sick and tired of everyone ganging up on her like this! It was time for her to actually defend herself – what wonders that'll bring… "That little freak, Yugi, took everything that was mine! He took away Daisuke, the love of my life, my soul mate! So why can't I take away Yugi's most precious someone, huh? It's only fair!" Anzu didn't even realize it, but a few sheds of tears were falling down from her eyes, and before she even realized it her body was shaking from the sudden outburst of her pent-up emotions.

Wasn't it only natural to do unto others what they have done to you? Anzu had lived her life, trying to make Yugi as miserable as possible, just so the little teen would know how it was like to be in misery every second of every day because, of course, misery does enjoy its company.

Jou bit out a harsh laugh. He couldn't say he felt a little bit of sympathy for the crying girl in front of him. She had been torturing his best friend way longer than he could count all because she thought it was the right thing to do! To Jou, Anzu was far past the forgiveness point.

"So you're admitting to drugging Mr. Atemu, for your own act of…'retribution'? Or maybe, for better words, in retaliation to whatever Yugi had done to you in the past?" the devastated look he was receiving from Anzu was enough to clear up any confusions the detective had left. With a nod towards his fellow cop, the man brought over to sole piece of evidence that could send Anzu away in handcuffs. He stared at the pitch black liquid that was coated in white sprinkles that almost looked like tiny snowflakes. The small substance was taking a long time to dissolve, but the detective recognized it as a well known drug that was circulating throughout the streets of Domino City. All you had to do was add the substance to water, drink it, and you'd be completely high, and aroused, for a decent amount of times.

It was a dangerous drug, to say the least, because it was in such high demand that people would be killed left and right for such a powerful aphrodisiac. That, and the fact that the drug was pretty much illegal everywhere, yet it always seemed to slip under the radar every time it was distributed.

With another nod, he gave the signal to put the girl into handcuffs. He had all the evidence against her to place her in court, and then finally jail, but there was still one mattered that was left unsettled. "Does anyone know the whereabouts of this," he flipped through his notebook a few times, "Yugi Motou?" he asked when his eyes finally fell upon the name of this missing.

Jou was still to riled up to give a proper reply, and Yami was still in no condition to explain things, meaning that Kaiba had to step up to the plate and bat for the team. "Well, Sir, no we don't know where Yugi ran off to."

The detective let out a sigh, "As I thought. Our force has been searching the grounds for a pretty decent amount of time, and has found nothing." He was just about to say something else, when the door flew open and in ran a super-exhausted, Kio.

"I'm here, I'm here!" he cried between gasps, as he bent over and placed his hands on his knees. He basically ran like a bat out of hell through the parking lot to reach where he was now. Once he had received Kaiba's message about Yugi going missing, and how we was needed at the school immediately, he had quickly dropped his job and rushed to his car, fending off traffic and other things to reach the school. Now here he was, gasping for breath, with a room full of cops, a principal, a distressed maid, four teens, and one less-than-happy principal.

"And who would you be?" the detective quirked an eyebrow, hiding his amusement at seeing this panting man in front of him.

After regaining enough air to actually form complete sentences, Kio straightened up to give a nod towards the detective. "I'm Kio, Yugi's father, and I'm here because I just learned he's gone missing!" his eyes were glistening with tears, as his mind was trying to grasp onto the harsh reality of it all. He had just found his son, after so many years of searching, and now he was missing? Just like that? Kio couldn't grasp onto the thought… more like, he didn't _want _to grasp onto the thought at all. "Does anyone know where he is?"

"No, Sir, we have no leads so far." The detective replied with a tad hint of frustration. Did he not just ask this very same question a few minutes before? But he couldn't put his stress on the father, that wasn't fair to him at all since he just randomly ran in.

"Well, do you even have a clue where Yugi could be?" the fear was slowly growing inside the pit of Kio's stomach, causing him to become even more frantic by the second. "Maybe he's back at his old place? That sound's like, right? I mean, it's pretty close the school and-,"

"-Sorry, Kio, but I don't think Yugi would ever return to that hellhole of a house on his own freewill." Yami finally spoke up, but all the emotion of his voice was gone, his words were hanging in the air like the million of clouds in the sky.

"W-What are you talking about, Yami? Why wouldn't Yugi go back there…?"

Yami just let out a sigh, it was shaky and uneven, and more tears were threatening to spill over, but he had to be strong in the face of Yugi's father. Breaking down would mean nothing, until Yugi was back and safe within his arms, he promised himself he wouldn't cry till then. "Kio, I think you should sit down for this."

+Save the Innocent: The Truth Hurts, but it Sets You Free+

After spending a quick, ten minute, shower, Daisuke hurriedly, but carefully, placed a light blue t-shirt over his frame, and pulled on some loose fitting sweatpants. The shirt was completely used and tattered, holes were placed here or there, and it was fraying at the ends – but _a _shirt was better than _no _shirt in this situation. The sweatpants were in the same condition as well, but the outfit would have to work for now.

Daisuke had wondered if he should look for something to cover up the bruises and scars that would be visible to the outside world, but if he was intending on escaping – people had to know! The scars and bruises would be the perfect evidence of abuse, and the evidence would slink and lead its way back to the house, where that drunken bastard, Kyouske would be – probably too far gone to even notice anything was happening.

Praying to God that he would escape the house without gaining anymore cuts or bruises, Daisuke crept down the stairs, slowly and carefully. One, so he wouldn't wake up Kyouske, or alert him, if he was actually awake. And two, even after that quick, but highly-welcoming, hot shower Yugi's body was still in horrible amounts of pain – he didn't want to injure anything anymore than it already was.

Step by step, he crept down the stairs, the deafening silence was unnerving to him, but the heavy and loud snores from Kyouske that was becoming louder and louder by the minute was giving him some sort of ease – ironically enough.

When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, he had to quickly draw up a map of the living room and how far away the door was, in his head. There were two ways that he could escape the house from, the front door, and the back door that lead to the backyard from the kitchen. The safer option would have been to take the back door as an escape route, since the only way to get through to the front door was to cross paths with Kyouske's sleeping form that was sprawled against the couch.

However, the backyard was completely untamed from years of negligence. Daisuke didn't even want to wrap his head around all the sort of things that were carelessly scattered around the back. 'Probably the majority of those items are beer bottles. Whatever else is out there...I think I'm better off not knowing.'

Deciding on using the back door, he crept to the right side, staying low and keeping close to the wall. Yugi's body screamed out in pain, as each and every delicate step was taken. Daisuke had to bite onto his lip just to keep from crying out; he didn't know how far gone Kyouske was at the moment. One little scream could either wake him up, or go unfazed by him. Either way, he didn't want to test out that theory, so he kept silent.

He was so close to the kitchen, he could practically start to run towards his escape to freedom! However, his good luck so far was running out on him. Without watching where he was going, he slipped over a discarded pillow, and fell face first on the floor – hitting his chin dead on in the process. Daisuke let out a pained scream, that he quickly cursed himself for doing so as he clasped his hands over his mouth.

It was too late though; Kyouske was already stirring, the alcohol still buzzing in his system as he felt like he was going to just throw up there and then. His head was throbbing painfully, causing him to let loose a colorful array of words as he gripped the sides of his head in discomfort. His disoriented eyes landed upon Yugi's trembling body and his pain suddenly turned into some form of inexplicable anger. The anger however, soon turned into a deranged form of lust.

"Swut, what are yew doin out of da 'oom!" even though the alcohol was still lingering over Kyouske, his horrible speech habits seemed to be faring better. Since the dizziness he was suffering from was too much for him to handle, he stumbled on his hands and knees, carrying something discreetly in his hand, over towards the trembling teen.

Daisuke was screwed, utterly screwed. If Yugi's body was in any better condition than it was in now, Daisuke was positive he would have been able to make a break for it, since Kyouske was crawling at the speed that could rival a turtle's. Unfortunately, that last fall had messed him up pretty good, sapping whatever little strength he had acquired earlier, gone. All he could do was pray that Kyouske would get tired and just slump on the floor. Or, if by some miraculous gift from God, that he'd be able to make it out of the house alive – he prayed very hard.

"Swut, swut, swut," Kyouske chanted as his muddy, purple eyes glared hungrily at Yugi's body, who was still trying its best to sit up straight. He was so close, he could feel it! The anticipation, the lust, the almost real feeling of having Yugi's body tremble and quirk underneath him, as he made each and every tiny spot on Yugi's body bleed was enough to send a shiver down his spine.

Kyouske was nearing the body, closer… closer… when he felt the ground underneath him give out, and whatever he was holding back down earlier forcing its way back up. Literally speaking, he puked on the floor a few inches from Daisuke – who had successfully managed to sit up right and was no working on standing – coughing and puking some more. The world was spinning, his throat was getting raw from all his dry heaving and puking, and his stomach was turning into knots.

Everything turned fuzzy, and the object in his hands – a half broken beer bottle – was cutting into his skin, causing a few, thin streams of blood to start flowing form his hand. His eyes were slowly getting covered by the horrifying shroud of darkness, and before he could even register what was going on, he was already on the floor, body limp, eyes rolled in the back of his head, and his mind already gone.

Daisuke sat there frozen; his eyes never left Kyouske's limp form. What had just happened? Was it some strange form of a miracle from God? If so, Daisuke was thanking Him with every ounce of his being as he willed his legs to stop shaking as he tried to support himself against the wall. This was his opportunity to make a break for it now that Kyouske was indisposed.

Once he reassured himself that his legs were stable enough to support him, he pushed himself off the wall and started to walk one foot after another towards the kitchen. Once he made it out there, he made a break for it to the back door, flinging it open and running straight out the door like a bat out of hell.

Daisuke ran like crazy through the backyard, ignoring every scrape, every pin-prick, every stream of blood that ran down his thigh. Just the mere fact that he was able to escape – that he had finally allowed Yugi to escape – was enough power to send him down a couple of blocks until he felt like he was far enough away – and enough that his legs might have given out soon – that he finally stopped once he reached an alleyway, and slid down until his butt touched the cold, hard, ground.

He let out a huge sigh of relief, once again thanking God for aiding him in the escape. Now all he had to do was wait for Yugi to regain consciousness. He felt a twinge of pain shoot up from his abdomen, and then another surge of pain started to come from all sorts of places. The amount of pain was just too much for Daisuke to handle in his tired state that after the next round of surges started to come out to play, Daisuke was already far gone – knocked out as his body slumped to the floor.

+Save the Innocent+

After explaining everything to Kio, how Yugi's mother had actually died in a struggle and how Yugi, up until now, used to think that it was his interference that led to the death of Haruhi. Then, they told him how later on Kio used that guilt as an excuse to rape Yugi day in and day out as a means of "repenting". Afterwards, they sped him up to the part how one day, Yugi had missed a week a school. That much had aroused enough suspicion to send Jou and Yami over to Yugi's house, only to find him chained to a wall, bloodied and almost left for dead.

As the information was taking its time to seep into Kio, he just couldn't wrap his mind around this! How come everything was being brought out into the open, _now_? Couldn't Yugi have told him sooner? Shaking his head slowly, he placed it in the palm of his hands, too afraid to look up and meet the gazes of the others.

"Why didn't he tell me…? Aren't I his father? I know I haven't been around too long but… you'd think someone would have told me!"

"That's kind of the point, Kio," Yami placed a hand on Kio's shoulder, easing him to look at him face-to-face. "Yugi had just found you, and now that he did, he didn't want to risk losing his biological father again. He already holds a strong guilt over what happened years ago; he was just so scared that once you found out, you would leave him again."

"But I'm his father! I would never leave him, not like that!"

"You left him once before," Kaiba added in. He didn't mean to make the words sound harsh, but they were true, and it seemed to give Kio a big slap in the face affect. "Don't blame him for being paranoid about you taking the news the wrong way."

Kio looked up at the two helplessly, before bringing his face to his hands again as sobs started to shake through his body. It was his own fault that Yugi never told him, all because of his selfish mistake to leave him when he was younger! "If I had never left… Yugi never would have," he hiccupped through the sobs, "Haruhi never would have… - Oh, God!" he lost it at that, and even the strong and comforting arms from Yami weren't enough to stop his tears.

"It's not your fault, Kio," Yami said in a soothing tone, rubbing Kio's back in small circles. "You had no idea what would happen after you left. Don't beat yourself up for something you had no control over."

"But-!"

"-But nothing," Yami had sternly interrupted, bringing Kio's face upwards so that they were staring eye-to-eye. "Like you told me and Yugi before, Haruhi was already cheating on you, and you felt like you weren't needed anymore – so you left. I'm not saying what you did was right, but I'm not saying it was wrong either. All I want you to know is that Yugi loves you. You have no idea how many times your name has popped up into one of our conversations. He's been so happy ever since you've came back into his life, and I know he would be completely devastated if you ever walked out of it again."

Kio allowed Yami's words to sink in, and the more he started to come to terms with everything, the less tears were flowing down his face. A few minutes later, and Kio was blowing his nose with a tissue, wiping the sides of his eyes before discarding it into the trashcan. Yes, Kio was still shocked that Yugi thought he was the cause of Haruhi's death, but the mere fact that he was being wrongly accused of it, and being raped by his own stepfather nonetheless, was enough to push those feelings aside, and set his mind on finding Yugi.

"So… if Yugi's not at his house… where would he have gone?" Kio asked the question that was floating around everyone's minds. Honestly, no one had the slightest clue on where Yugi would have run off to. If Yugi had ran off back to Kaiba's house, which was highly unlikely since Kaiba's house was a good distance away from the school, one of the maids would have called the brunette's cell phone informing him of Yugi's arrival. Other than Kaiba's mansion, no one else had the foggiest idea where Yugi would have gone.

Suddenly, a cop around the age of thirty, walked in with a look of great concern. He closed the door abruptly and walked over to the detective who was raising an eyebrow at his alarmed state.

"What seems to be the matter, Theo?"

"We've gotten some reports on a strange looking man that was wondering around the outside of the school a few hours ago. Witnesses believe that the man looked intoxicated, and that he was dragging a little boy down the street with him. They didn't want to jump to any conclusions though, and dismissed it as some drunken person that was minding his own business." Theo finished off with a quick nod.

Could people really be this stupid nowadays? Yami suddenly sat up from his seat, as the dots were finally connecting together. 'What if…-What if that were Kyouske that was wondering around? And what if… -Oh God, no!'

Kaiba, who was looking straight at Yami, could sense his distress. Not only that, but he too was finally connecting all the little dots together to form the picture. Not only they, but Jou and Kio were finally started to add two and two together.

"Kyouske," the name fell off of the four's lips as they tried to wrap their minds around why Kyouske would even be at the school in the first place.

"To find Yugi; that's why," Yami answered his own question, his body shaking in anger as he realized he had let Yugi slip through his fingers again and into the hands of that monster! No, he was not going to lose his aibou this time. He would gladly storm into that house again, and rescue Yugi just like he had done the last time! Only this time around, he would have enough evidence and police back-up to arrest Kyouske's sorry ass and throw in him jail with charges of rape.

"What about Yugi?" the detective asked, looking at Yami with a questioning gaze.

"That man… it was probably Kyouske loitering around looking for him," Kaiba answered the question, just about ready to leave the school and search for Yugi. "I'm betting all the money I have that Yugi's at that house _right _now, tied up to some wall… chained…" he didn't even want to think about all the horrible things that Kyouske could possibly be doing to Yugi at the moment.

The detective nodded his head in understanding, stuffing his notepad in his pocking and giving a quick signal to the other cops that it was okay to lead Anzu outside and to the car – not like she was free to go anywhere else right now. Once that was taken care of, he gave another nod towards the four that were so anxious to bolt out of the door right about now. "Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go find Yugi!"

+Save the Innocent: Let the innocent be saved+

Eiji whistled a not-so-happy tune as he took a short cut through a series of alleyways. His keys jingled in his right pocket, and he could feel an added weight in his left pocket. If Eiji wasn't the type of man he was – or if Kyouske wasn't one of his good friends, even though the man was drunk off his ass all the time – he never would have been walking down these alleys, wasting his precious time to deliver to Kyouske his lost wallet.

'Hopefully he's at least somewhat sober,' he thought to himself as he made his way across the last set of alleyways that would lead to his friend's house. Just as he was about to exit from the dark, tunnel-like, walkthrough, he stumbled across something lying motionlessly on the floor.

Now, on any other day, Eiji might have walked straight past this lying figure saying something along the lines of: "It's not my business". But not today, something was compelling him to look closer at the motionlessly figure who's face was hidden behind a trashcan. Some force of nature was causing him to bend down until he was at eye level with this body, and widen his eyes in realization of who exactly this person really was.

It was Yugi's body, sitting limp between to trashcans, with his shirt ripped here and there, and sweatpants that seemed like they had saw better days. Eiji's only guess was that Kyouske had gone too far this time, probably kidnapping him somewhere and having his way with the teen, and that Yugi had once again escaped. But this time, it looked like Yugi didn't have the energy to get too far, and had collapsed in the middle of this alleyway.

Something tugged at his ice-cold heartstrings, as he stared at the broken and bruised body of the small teen. Something was nagging him at the back of the mind to forget the wallet, and help out Yugi. Sighing to himself, he grabbed Yugi gently by the arms and held him so that he had one arm around his waist, and another arm supporting his legs.

Afterwards, with a lot of luck and coordination, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed the number for 911. After the first or second ring, the phone picked up and Eiji immediately started to explain his reason for calling.

"Yes, I have this boy here, around the age of sixteen maybe. He looks pretty beaten up, he has bruises everywhere… it looks pretty bad." He paused a minute while he let the woman on the other end of the line talk. "No, I just found him like this," Another pause, "I found him in an alleyway somewhere between the shop district and 13th street." One more pause, "Yes, of course I want an ambulance to pick him up!" he had to bit back an exasperated sigh that was threatening to escape his lips as he let the woman finish talking. Once he had gotten the okay that they would be there shortly, he snapped his phone up, carried Yugi bridal style outside the dark alleyway, and into the evening sun.

'I'll bite off Kyouske's head later for being such an idiot…' he looked down at Yugi's peaceful face, and hoped to whatever God was up there that Kyouske hadn't actually killed him this time. 'I should have stopped him when I had the chance,' were his last thoughts before he heard the sirens of an ambulance approaching, and the sight of blue and red blinking lights blinding his vision somewhat.

* * *

See! Yugi does get saved! Just not by who you _thought _he'd get saved by... but there's always a reason for everything :D! Don't worry, and don't try to kill me either o.o, Yami and Yugi will be reunited soon - I promise! :D.

Also, I hope the whole, Kyouske like... having an attack thing, made sense. If not, I was sort of going for the whole "Kyouske suffers from a sudden attack of alcohol posion and does not get to go about his plans of attackign Yugi"! Hopefully that part worked out well... haha...

ANOTHER THING! When I looked at my plot line for this... I realized that I totally started to _not _follow my plots o.o. But I was like like: "Ehhh... everything happens that I want to happen so... Ehhh...". I don't think it should affect the length of this story, but if it does... I'll make it so its longer, NOT shorter :D!.

Anyway, I'm done babbling. Hope you enjoyed chapter 18!

Till next time! :D


	19. Chapter 19

**Happy New Years! :D I hope everyone made their resolutions ;D. Mine is to be a speedy updater o.o. Yeah... I might need some work on that one o_o".**

You guys have no idea how much I love you, hence, I'm showing my love by updating :D. It took me all afternoon (like three or four hours) but I finally got this finished and ready to be posted.

Praise the Lord for Caffiene.

I'd like to thank everyone for your reviews, adding to favorites, and story alerts. I appreciate it all very much! :D I literally check my email like, every hour or two hours to see if I got anymore reviews or alerts and what not - reading and seeing who added me just sends me into happy jitters that makes me wanna dance! :D.

This chapter is somewhat intense, and I my hospital knowledge is lacking greatly but I think I got the main gist of it - mostly common sense on my part though.

I think that's all I need to say... if not I'll remember to say it at the end.

Read & Enjoy :D.

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+Save the Innocent: Come back to me, Aibou+

Fear, nervousness, anxiety, was wrapped around Yami's mind and body with a powerful grip that refused to let go. His fingers trying to adjust the seatbelt strap, claiming it was too tight on his body when it was just fine, or fiddling with the radio dials in Kio's car. To calm his nerves, he would switch the station to some easy jazz, when he felt like he was too calm – because when that happened he started to think about Yugi and that reminded him that he _shouldn't _be so calm in this situation – he would turn the dial to some hard rock station, only to switch it back to jazz because his mind was starting to get wound up on all the things that could possibly have happened to his little aibou.

"Yami, can you just pick a damned station and be happy with it?" Jou snarled, directing all his frustrations towards Yami and his indecisiveness. Everyone was on edge, their minds scattering to different places, some where trying to divert their attention from the situation, while the others were thinking, and coming up with lists, of ways they could have prevented this from ever happening.

But thus is fate, sometimes we really don't have any control over it – no matter how much we think otherwise.

The worst out of the bunch however, was Yami. He felt as if he had broken his promise to Yugi. To always protect him, to always love him and now that promise was shattered, along with Yugi's heart. Just the mere fact, the simple image, of seeing Yugi's hurt, betrayed, enraged face in his mind almost sent him into tears again.

'If only I was a little bit more careful. I should have never let my guard down. No, I should have never let Jou take me to that damned café in the first place!' Yami knew it wasn't right to place the blame on himself, or Jou, but right now he needed to vent out his mental frustrations on something! 'I was just content on sitting outside of the Art room, waiting for Yugi but no – Jou had to come and drag me away.'

The grip on his seatbelt tightened, his mouth sent in a tight line and body visibly shaking. If this car didn't stop soon he was seriously going to lose it. However, sensing the obvious tension emitting from Yami, Kip stretched out his own unoccupied hand and placed it over top of Yami's.

"Yami, in these situations it's best to not let your anger get the better of you." Kio smiled reassuringly to Yami. The crimson eyed teen's eyes landed upon the hand that was currently on top of his.

With a sigh, Yami turned his gaze back on the window. He was becoming so impatient, what was meant to be a simple, thirty minute drive was now turning to be a thirty _hour _drive in Yami's mind. 'When will we get there? Yugi can't wait any longer - _I _can't wait any longer!'

"Yami-,"

"-I'm sorry Kio but I can't just sit here and _not _worry about Yugi! I've completely and utterly let him down. I promised him I wouldn't hurt him, that I'd show him what _true _love was and look what happens: He walks in on me and Anzu doing…" he let his voice drop because he honestly didn't want to go back and remember that huge and hideous stain that would forever be engrained in his memory. The horrible image of his Yugi breaking right in front of him – and he couldn't do a thing to stop it.

Kio's grip on Yami's hand increased slightly, causing the crimson-eyed teen to face Kio whose face was showing the same amount of pain that Yami's had.

"We both let Yugi down, and I would like to not have to remind myself of that constantly. I know what I did wrong, and now I'm going to use this chance to fix it. The same should go for you too, Yami. You had no control over what happened, so don't beat yourself up over something that wasn't in your hands."

Kaiba leaned forward and placed his own reassuring hand on his cousin's shoulder. Even the normally calm and stoic brunette couldn't hide his emotions. Just like everyone else, his mind was focused on Yugi and trying to not think about all the horrible things that could be going on at this very moment.

"Kio's got a point, Cousin. Do you really think Yugi would want us sitting here beating ourselves up over this?" he smirked slightly despite the situation, "I really don't think Yugi would want us to injure ourselves over him _too _much."

Of course, Jou also had to incorporate himself into the conversation and flashed Yami a goofy grin. "I'll be the only one doing the beating up around here! So you just sit down, pick a damn station that you're happy with, and start thinking about all the good things that are going to happen once we find Yugi."

"Like the saying goes: There's always a light at the end of the tunnel, Yami." Kio smiled kindly and ruffled the crimson-eyed teen's spiky hair. "We will definitely save Yugi."

Yami couldn't help it, he had to smile, because with all the comfort, the reassurance, he was getting from his family and friends – it helped him to move closer and closer to that long awaited light.

But, the journey to said light is much longer, and farther than they could possibly imagine.

+Save the Innocent: Where are you?+

"What do you mean no one can see me right now? Do you not see the injured child in my arms?" Eiji's patience with these people had finally snapped. First off, he had to be rushed to a waiting room for over thirty minutes because the doctors were all caught up with some other emergency. Then, he had to sit next to an annoying little brat who wouldn't stop telling him about the wonderful world of Power Rangers. Afterwards, Yugi had started to trash around like a fish out of water and the nurses were quote "too busy" unquote to even bother with him! So Eiji, being the responsible person he was, had to calm down Yugi the best he could into the position he was now.

It was no easy task, mind you.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but so far none of the doctors are available right now."

"The least you could do is give the kid a room! I'll even operate on him if I have to!"

"Sir, you are not allowed to touch any of the medical equipment." The nurse was starting to get stressed with the situation as well. During the afternoon, a major crash occurred somewhere along the lower district of Domino. People who were injured were being brought from the accident left and right. There were no available rooms and all the staff members were either working on the injured patients or breaking the news to families that had lost their loved ones. All in all, she really didn't need this stranger yelling and barking at her to do something that she really didn't have the ability to do at the moment.

Yes, her heart did go out to the unconscious boy that was lying helplessly in Eiji's arm, but at the moment there was nothing she could do for the teen.

Sighing and running a shaky hand through her blonde hair, she propped two hands on her desk to support herself up. "Look, Sir, this is a hospital, I'm a stressed out nurse who knows her way around the human body and is pretty decent using a surgical knife. If you don't lower your voice, you'll be losing a very important part of your male anatomy." She raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow and flashed a smile towards Eiji who seemed to have taken her threat very seriously. "Are we clear?"

"Crystal, Ms. Valentine." Eiji replied with a slight sneer, but he did understand the nurse's situation and decided he might as well attempt to be civil – for now – but that still didn't derive from the fact that Yugi was still in his arms, bloodied, probably hanging between the balance of life and death as they spoke.

"Good," she replied with fake cheeriness as she walked around her desk. She stood in front of Eiji, arms folded across her broad chest, as she gazed down at Yugi. "Poor kid," she sighed and gave Eiji an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. Things are just chaotic today, even though I should have expected this once I decided to take my profession in medicine." Ms. Valentine shook her head softly as she laughed. "I'll see what I can do. Since obviously this is _not _the time to be talking right now!" she quickly reminded herself as she rushed looking for a phone.

Just then, a very tired doctor who was just about ready to retire from his exhausting day, walked into the waiting room. Ms. Valentine looked up and her face fell into one of utter relief as she saw the tired, aged man walk into the room fiddling with his white coat.

"Dr. Solomon! Thank God you're here!" she said as she ran to his side. "How many have you operated on so far?"

"About five, some with minor injuries that needed stitches, and others were just," he let his head hang low as his graying bangs fell over his face. "Some were just really bad, Mai."

"I understand," Mai placed a comforting hand on Solomon's shoulder.

"Please don't tell me you've forgotten about me _again_," screw being formal now. Eiji just wanted the attention that was desperately needed so he can go about the rest of his day! 'This is the last time I do something nice for anyone.'

"Oh, right, of course," Solomon let out a shaky laugh. This day was really getting to him, both mentally and physically but as a doctor – it was his responsibility to help everyone in need. "Let's see what we have here – Yugi?" his dark, purple, eyes widened in shock and fear. 'What is Yugi doing here?' Solomon quickly rushed towards his grandson's side and ran a gloved hand across his face. "What happened?" his voice was low, and his eyes were glued on the dirtied and abused face of his little grandson.

"I can't say for certain, Sir, because when I found him he was already passed out in the alleyway. But," Eiji stopped himself, was he really going to turn in his longtime friend? Yes, what he did to Yugi was out of line, way out of line, but Eiji knew Kyouske before all the alcohol messed up with his better judgment and life in general. Hell, he was even Kyouske's best man at their wedding! 'It'll be a good thing if I do.' He finally decided, 'He'll probably go to jail for it, abusing a minor, exploiting among other things. If jail doesn't straighten him out then I'm not so sure rehab will help much either but…' he turned his gaze to Yugi, who seemed to be dreaming at the moment. Whatever was going on through his mind, Eiji didn't know, but it seemed to be a peaceful dream so far – well, peaceful compared to other times. 'Stop being a lazy ass and let's do something, Eiji!'

"But what?" Mai raised a curious eyebrow and leaned forward, intent on hearing what Eiji had to say.

Eiji let out a sigh once more, 'I better be getting points for this where it counts.' He thought before looking adjusting Yugi's position when he felt his arm starting to lose feeling. "His father probably had something to do with this."

"You mean Kio did this?" Solomon asked highly confused. He never would have thought his son would leave Yugi like this in such a state – it just wasn't possibly. "You couldn't be talking about-,"

"-Kio?" Eiji raised an eyebrow, highly confused about where Solomon was going with this. "Excuse me for my language but: Who the hell is Kio? I was talking about Kyouske, Yugi's dad."

"Stepdad, you mean," Solomon corrected him, after the tiny bit of light was shed. He was about to say something more, but Yugi started to trash once again in Eiji's arms, screaming out in pain and yelling for someone to stay away. "We've wasted enough time here," Kio's father's voice had taken on a more serious, composed form as he started to walk down the hallway, Eiji and Mai hot on his heels. "There's finally an empty room opened. Eiji, take Yugi inside while I get fresh new gloves. Mai, call the other doctors for a mini-briefing and an examination of the patient." He stopped in front of the door, opened it, and allowed Eiji to step inside.

"I lost my grandson once; I'm not going to lose him again."

+Save the Innocent+

"Everybody, move back!" a cop screamed as he manned his squadron by the door of Yugi's house. Everyone did as they were told, they weren't about to go against a cop and his men armed with a battering ram at the moment. "Alright, on the count of three we smash the door open." He turned to two groups of five men, all dressed in the same, all black, uniform. "Group One, when the door is opened, you will immediately swarm the house and look for the missing person." He turned his attention to the second group. "Group Two, you will swarm the backyard and look for anything suspicious. We will not leave any stone unturned, men. Do you understand?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Good, now… One, two," the cops with the battering ram ran back a few feet away from the door, eyes set on their target. "Three!" at once, the men ran at top speed, knocking the door down with ease. Group one immediately swarmed inside the house, already looking for clues, or any form of evidence that would show the whereabouts of where Yugi was.

Group Two was already in the backyard, literally not leaving any stone unturned while Yami and the crew followed after Group One. Yami, Jou, and two of the men from Group One all took control of the upstairs level. The teens took one side of the hallway while the other two took the next side.

One by one, Yami and Jou would open up doors, only to come up empty when they found neither hide nor hair of Yugi. They checked literally everywhere, ripped through the rooms like a hurricane on a mission, but still ended up nowhere. It was only until they were at the end of the hallway, leaning against the wall, spirits almost crushed, that they found a hidden stairway.

"Has that always been there?" Yami asked, peering his head through the dark stairway that led to God knows where.

Jou just shrugged, "I honestly don't know, Man. But let's check it out." The blonde really didn't have to tell him twice though since Yami was already bounding up the stairs two steps at a time with an equally eager blonde right behind him.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, Yami tried to open the door, but to his surprise the door was already wide open. 'Okay… yeah, that's definitely suspicious.' Cautiously, Yami and Jou entered the room, their eyes getting adjusted the near-pitch black room and the horrible stench of blood and sweat.

"Smells like sex," Jou deadpanned, picking up the bed sheets and contorting his face in disgust. He flung the sheets off somewhere, wiping off anything dirty that could have been on the sheets.

"More like rape," Yami examined the thrown bed sheets, eyeing the obvious blood stains and white stains that were clearly plastered on the dark blue sheets like a work of art. "He was absolutely merciless this time…" he muttered softly to himself, clutching the soft fabric of his shirt where his heart was, trying to hold back sobs.

"He's always shows no mercy, this time it was like he didn't even care." Jou stooped down to Yami's level, silently cursing loudly when his foot stepped into something wet and soggy – most likely spilled beer. Grimacing, he glared at the broken and scattered beer bottles before he turned his attention to Yami. "I'm guessing he was giving Yugi one hell of a 'welcome back party'."

The crimson-eyed teen stared blankly at the floor, as his mind was slowly starting to accept the fact that Yugi wasn't here. Yes, there was enough evidence to claim that Kyouske had indeed raped Yugi and send his sorry butt off to jail, but it wouldn't really matter to Yami if he couldn't even find his love.

"Yugi… where are you?" he whispered into the darkness. Jou slowly rubbed circles on his friend's back, telling him that they should carry the blanket with them, just in case. Nodding absentmindedly, Jou helped Yami up to his feet, and down the stairs.

Once they were in the living room, Kio and Kaiba rushed up to their side. Kaiba was the first to notice the blanket in Yami's arms and cocked a curious eyebrow.

"It's evidence," Jou stated simply, knowing that Yami wasn't in the mood to talk right now. Really, who could blame him?

"If it is evidence, we'll take care of that," the detective calmly walked over, and with a little coaxing, brought the blanket out of Yami's arms and into his. "Did you guys find Yugi?" Jou frowned, his brown eyes sparkling with upcoming tears as he shook his head slowly. Kaiba was quickly by his side and pulled his puppy into a much needed hug.

Yami stood by himself though, his eyes downcast as his body shook with fear, anger, and sadness. 'Where is he, where is he, where is he?' he felt like the world was turning and turning rapidly, and that the floor was almost about to give out beneath him.

"Steady now, Yami," Kio was already there, pulling the Egyptian into his own pair of arms. "We're going to find him, alright? If Yugi's not here, that means he must have escaped, and that's a good thing."

'Or, it could just mean the bastard trapped Yugi somewhere… or worse,' but Yami didn't dare say that out loud, he even mentally cursed himself for even thinking something like that! Swallowing an audible gulp, Yami let out a shaky sigh before returning the hug the best he could. "Did you guys find anything down here?"

"Yeah, we did actually," Kio pulled Yami back by arm's length before grasping him by the arm, "Here, come look." He gently commanded as he pulled the still shaken up teen with him to where four or five cops were standing in a circle, grimacing over something.

"Is this the boy's stepfather?" one cop pointed the question towards either of the two.

Yami nodded slowly, "Yes, that's him." He answered silently. "Is he… dead?" his voice picked up a bit, even though he knew he shouldn't have sounded too happy over the fact that Kyouske could very well be dead. However, in his mind, it was one less painful thing that his little aibou would have to deal with. So you could say in some ways it's a win-win situation.

Another cop knelt down to the still body of Kyouske, trying to avoid looking at his, now rolled upwards, eyes. He grabbed the body by the wrists and held two fingers by the vein. Waiting patiently, he moved any access clothes away and pressed his ear against Kyouske's chest, listening and waiting for any signs of a heartbeat. It was faint, but it was still very much there.

The cop lifted up his head, adjusted his cap, and shook his head. "Nope, somehow this guys still alive and kicking. The heartbeat's still pretty faint though, not too fast yah know? Either way, we can't leave the man here to die though."

'Even though I'd absolutely _loved _if you did that,' the thought ran through Yami, Kaiba, Kio, and Jou's minds even though some rearranged the statement to a much more, harsher, comment.

"So what do we do now?" Yami had already sunken into one of the couches, head in his hands as he rubbed at his throbbing temples.

"Since we don't know the location of where Yugi is, we're going to have to hold the search of for now." The detective leaned casually against the wall, flipping through his notebook again. "We also have to take this man to the hospital, see what's wrong with him – even though my guess is he suffered from major alcohol poisoning," he deducted, motioning to the many scattered beer bottles on the floor. "Afterwards, we'll resume the search again and pray to God that we come up with something." He closed his notebook and ran a hand through his hair, "This would be the part where I say: 'Don't worry, we'll most definitely find him,' but I've been in this business long enough to know that not everything is going to have a happy ending." The detective scanned his eyes over the three teens and Kio, his face was set in stone and his voice was void of any and all emotion. "Be ready to accept the fact that Yugi could possibly be dead."

The room was deathly silent as the thought hung in the air with a heavy feeling. No one wanted to think the worst out of this, they all wanted to desperately believe that everything was going to turn out okay, but they also had to be prepared if the worse had truly yet to come.

Jou broke out into more sobs, resulting in Kaiba to once again tighten his hold around his blonde. The brunette was holding back his own tears as well, although he would never admit that to anyone else. Kio was in about the same state as Yami was, sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. The crimson-eyed teen was the only one that remained indifferent.

'No, Yugi is _not _dead. I can feel it…'

Just then, Kio's cell phone rang. He was hesitant to answer it at first, but after the third or fourth ring he lazily brought the phone up to his ears and answered. "Yes?"

"Is that how you answer your father nowadays?" the voice at the other end of the line attempted to joke, but it didn't help to ease away any of the tension.

"I'm really not in the mood right now, Dad. Is there something that you wanted?"

"Yes actually, there is." He could hear his dad moving around, probably changing his doctor's coat or something, on the other end of the line. "It's about Yugi. He's at the hospital right now ready to go into surgery – he was pretty messed up to put it bluntly."

"Yugi? You mean - you mean he's okay! He's alive!" Kio jumped up from his spot, along with the others whose eyes were now shining with a new shred of hope at the news.

"Yes, he's alive, barely. The wounds were pretty bad, and he's suffering from some internal bleeding." Hearing this Kio's mood dropped slightly, but knowing where his son was, being taken care of right this moment, kept his spirits up slightly. "Kio… why didn't we know about this? Why is it, now, of all these times, in this sort of situation, that something's finally being done?"

"I don't know, Dad, I really don't know. But, we found his stepdad; he suffered from some major alcohol poisoning or something. It seems like karma really does come to bite you back in the ass." He let out a soft laugh before becoming serious once more. "We'll be heading over at the hospital shortly. I'll call you when we're there."

Snapping his phone shut, he turned towards the three eager faces with a bright smile. "Yugi's okay guys, he's safe and sound at the hospital." everyone let out sighs and cheers of relief at the news. Jou pulled Kaiba into a much needed, and very passionate, kiss while Yami softly smiled to himself, knowing that in a few hours, he'd be reunited with his aibou. "Also – I hate bursting everyone's bubbles – but apparently, my dad says that Yugi's condition isn't very good. He's suffering from a lot of external, as well as, internal injuries. They're going to be starting the operation any minute now, so I say we head down to the hospital now – and bring some pillows and blankets, we might be there for a long time."

Everyone nodded to Kio's suggestion, but they were still happy nonetheless. Their best friend, their son, their love was safe and sound – minus a few injuries – but all that mattered was that Yugi was alive and that very soon, things would finally be taking a turn in the right direction.

If only that was true…

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Epic Foreshadowing No Jutsu! Sorry... Naruto moment XP.

Yes, I have brought Mai into all of this (:, I was so tempted to have Mai adress Eiji as "Honey" but I'll just do that next chapter once they get more... "familiar" o.o - no sexual innuendo implied.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed chapter 19 (:, NEXT CHAPTER YAMI AND YUGI WILL FINALLY MEET UP! I PROMISE! So stick with me till then, hahaha :D.

Till next Time :D.


	20. Chapter 20

Sorry if this is a little late D:, but here's chapter 20 of save the innocent!

Intense - as always, but we're finally nearing a happy climax, ending (nowhere near ending) of our story :D

EEEEPPPP -nearly faints- 10k+ hits, 91 reviews, 57 favs and 51 alerts last time I checked! THANK YOU ONE AND ALL! I APPREICATE ALL YOUR SUPPORT :3. You guys give me all the energy to get on my computer and write the living rainbow colors out of me - if that even made any sense!

So, anyways, hahaha, Read & Enjoy :D

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+Save the Innocent: I don't want to remember…+

+Yugi's POV+

_This darkness, where does it lead to? _

_I walk and walk and walk, but I have no idea where to go, where to turn, but I just keep walking._

_The darkness is overcome with pictures – memories perhaps? - Of things that I feel like I've experienced before, but I can't tell when or where._

_Two boys with the exact same hairstyle laugh, kiss, hug, and cry together. The ache that wraps around my heart and clutches it in a tight grip becomes stronger and stronger as my eyes train upon the flashing images._

_What is this feeling? _

_This feeling of loss and longing…_

_Why can't I remember?_

_The image changes and it's the smaller one of the two strapped against the wall, a metal chain clasped firmly around his neck._

_I can feel that pain the boy is feeling, like that very same chain was wrapped around my own neck. My hand unconsciously finds its way to my neck, and I gulp – it was such a raw feeling._

"_Yugi," the name stops me in my tracks, freezing me in that very same spot. That name, it's too familiar. Is it mine, or that other boy's name? "You're so tight, Slut." _

_I'm literally, utterly, without-a-doubt, repulsed as I stand there and watch this shadowy figure continually abuse this boy. No matter how much the tri-colored, spiky hair teen protests – begs him to stop – this monster just keeps going._

_Tears are falling down my eyes now, but why am I crying? Do you normally feel this much heart-wrenching pain when you empathize for someone? _

_No… it can't be, that's not the reason why. _

_Realization hits me like a ton of bricks. That person, that shaking, scared, alone, hurting boy is me. _

_My legs give out, and I slump to the floor. I barely pay any attention to the moving images that flash between my high points and my bottomless low points. I can't stop the violent shakes that ripple through my body, or the dry-heaving sobs that rivet through my chest and out my mouth._

_I can't stop myself from breaking down._

"_I love you Yugi. I love you. I love you. I love you. I'll repeat it over and over again; I'll wait forever, until you're able to love me too. I don't want you to be afraid, to open up, and to have feelings for someone again. I'll be yours forever, I'll never leave your side, never use you, and I'll only show you the love you've always deserved."_

_Those words, I know those words – I know that voice. Slowly, I rise up my head, I'm entranced at the scene where the other boy and I sharing an embrace while he kisses me on the top of my head._

_His name; it's on the tip of my tongue, but I can't say it. Why do the words escape me now of all times!_

**Because you don't want to say them, fear can be such a bitch you know.**

_What? Who's there?_

**You can't say you've forgotten me now, Yugi. After all we've been through – I'm highly offended!**

_D-Daisuke… the one who I – the one who…_

**No, Yugi, don't even try to connect those dots because – to your benefit – I am not him; even though I still have no idea why you decided to name me after your late teacher.**

_Oh… _

**You're even more docile when you don't remember anything! **_Daisuke sits in front of me with this goofy grin on his face and his hair pulled up in a pony tail. _**Enjoying the show? **

_I look around at the stilled image of that boy – whose name is still on my tongue – saying that promise to me, those words, softly as if he's crying for me. _

_Daisuke, I can't remember him…_

**Think really hard, Yugi. He's your ticket out of the darkness… and into the light.**

_I'm trying! But I can't – I don't know!_

**Yes you do. Just think. Let your emotions – you're heart – tell you the answer.**

_My emotions and heart, how will they tell me anything? But from the look in his eyes, he knows this is the write way to go about things – and for some reason I find myself closing my eyes and thinking, feeling, repeating those words that boy had said to me…_

"_Yami," the words dance along my tongue and escape my lips before I can even stop them. That's who he was: Yami, my Yami – or who I thought was my Yami. No, he is my Yami, and nothing's going to change that!_

"_Yami!" I scream into the darkness, racing blindly through it and the fast-moving pictures along either side of me. Daisuke, the ever-living pain in my side, floats beside me with a Cheshire-like grin on his face._

**Finally remembered, huh?**

_Just tell me where to go! I want – no, I _need _Yami!_

**Just follow the light, Kid. Just follow the light.**

+Save the Innocent: I head towards the light…+

+Normal POV+

Amethyst eyes slowly fluttered open. The world was fuzzy, and the little one's mind was highly disoriented. For a minute, Yugi couldn't remember where he was, what had happened – or who he even was. But, as the blanket of confusion slowly rose up from Yugi's thoughts, everything came back to him like a raging flood.

'I ran away only to be captured by Kyouske. I was raped – nearly left for dead – until Daisuke took over. Afterwards…' Yugi's eyes slowly scanned over the sterile white rooms decorated with various instruments and equipment, along with a few surgeon coats, gloves, and surgical masks hanging from the wall.

'Daisuke must have gotten help,' the amethyst-eyed teen concurred, seeing that the state his body was in wouldn't be sufficient enough to carry him all the way to the hospital – not without further injuring himself in the process. 'Maybe – maybe Yami helped bring me here!'

Just the thought of his love, Yami, erased any and all ill thoughts that Yugi had before. Yes, he was still deeply hurt by the fact that his love did embrace another person – especially since that person was Anzu – but love forgives everything, and you use the bad times to make yourself stronger.

Yugi's love for Yami was strong, he could never deny that. So, when – if ever – he saw Yami again Yugi was going to make sure they talked things over; he didn't want to leave any misunderstandings between them – the only thing he wanted was for their love to grow.

"Yami," the name escaped his voice as a whisper while he attempted to prop himself up. However, he found the task to be highly difficult due to the fact there were IVs strapped on his arms, along with a blanket wrapped tightly around his figure. 'Well then…'

"Oh thank God you're awake!" Mai rushed over to the slightly disoriented teen, fluffing his pillow slightly and make any necessary adjustments to the equipment. "How do you feel, Honey?"

"Like crap," Yugi replied bluntly. His voice was raspy – most likely from all the screaming – and he didn't feel like talking more than necessary.

Mai laughed softly while she checked over some read-outs and did her normal examination procedure, "No offense, Honey, but you didn't look like a fresh patch of roses when you came in either. Must have been through a lot, huh?" she asked, running a soothing finger through his spiky, tri-colored locks.

Yugi could only manage a nod, his eyes closing half-way at the soothing sensation. 'Just like Yami's fingers…' the thought of his Yami once again snapped him out of his daze as he frantically started to look left and right for him – the panic mixing with fear slowly starting to rise.

If Yami did indeed help Yugi get to the hospital, then wouldn't it make sense that he would be here right now by his side? 'Where is he? Where could he be?' the more he thought, the more he felt tears well in his eyes by the fact that maybe Yami never did bother to try and save him again…

Paranoia always had a way of warping your thoughts to their worst.

**Do you honestly believe that? **Daisuke questioned, a little fed up with how Yugi was handling all of this. One minute, he's set his sights on finding Yami and setting things straight and now he was staring a whole new spiel on how the crimson-eyed teen probably never even thought twice about him. **Because honestly Yugi, if you do, I'm sorry to say but that way of thinking of idiotic.**

_But what if I was wrong, what if-_

**-Kid, that's your fear talking. You know as well as I do that Yami would give his **life **to save you. He's done it for you once, what would stop him from doing it again? I know love hasn't been your strongest ally in the past, but you've been giving this chance again to regain that strength you've lost all those years ago. And don't you dare try to tell me otherwise because you know I'm right, Yugi.**

_I wasn't going to say anything…_

**Uh huh, sure you weren't. Anyway, if you really, truly, want to know where Yami is – then just ask.**

_But-_

**My God, Kid. What is with you and all the 'buts'? Ask, dammit! **

Yugi sighed, once Daisuke went into his assertive-mode there was no way getting around him and what he wanted. Casting his gaze towards the nurse, that still looked like she was reading stuff off of the screens, he quietly voiced his question.

"Um, where's Yami?"

"Hm?" Mai raised an eyebrow, turning away from her observations to give her full attention to the boy on the bed. "What was that, Honey?"

"Yami… where is he?"

"Ah, you mean the boy outside! You know, now that I think about it; you two both have the same hairstyle. And you're both incredibly cute," She laughed slightly at the small smile that appeared on the little teen's face. "Is he your brother? You two look almost identical if it weren't for the different eye colors and skin-tone," Mai asked as she did her last final check-ups.

Yugi just shook his head no at the raised eyebrow from the nurse. "My boyfriend," he said softly as a mild blush spread across his cheeks.

"Even cuter!" was Mai's reply after she jotted down a few more things on her clipboard. With all the information gathered, and enough doctors' ready for another operation, they would finally be able to get on with the surgery. Hopefully, Yugi's condition wouldn't be worse than everyone's fears implied but only time would tell.

With a bidding nod, Mai started towards the door all set to tell the doctors they could start the procedure now. However, just as Mai was about to exit, Yugi's quiet and raspy voice echoed through her ears.

"Where are you going?"

The blonde nurse held back the sigh that threatened to escape her lips, but she forced it down anyways and instead smiled brightly towards the concerned patient. "Don't worry, Honey, I'm just going to bring in doctor Solomon and the others so we can start the operation."

'Operation…?' Yugi's eyes slightly raised a fraction as more panic started to course through his veins at top speed. "I want Yami!" he nearly screamed – but even such a raspy whisper sent the little teen recoiling slightly.

"You can't see him before the operation," Mai replied sternly and firm.

"I don't care, I just want Yami!" Yugi was nearly at on the verge of tears. After everything he'd been through, he still wasn't able to see Yami. To be embraced by him, to have those loving words whispered in his ears, or to be kissed over and over again by his wonderful Egyptian.

All he wanted was Yami – was that too hard to ask?

The little teen started to trash, repeating his demands over and over again, ignoring the strain it was producing on his voice. Mai, however, seemed less than phased by such a tantrum seeing that, in her profession, she'd seen more than her fair share of crazed patients.

With another, tight, smile – and her sternness still in place – she placed two hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow at the trashing teen, "You're going to rip the IVs out, Honey."

"I don't care, I don't care, I don't care! Please… - Please I just want to see Yami! That's all I want, Yami…" enraged screams turned into hiccupping, heart-wrenching, sobs as he completely broke down right there and then on the hospital bed.

Mai's firm demeanor slowly started to crack as she watched those millions of tears fall down Yugi's face one by one. She never liked to see anyone cry – especially someone who was just too beautiful to have their face contorted in such painful sobs.

With kind smile, Mai let down her hard defenses as she brushed away a few of the tears that still streaked down his porcelain cheeks. "Would it really make you happy if I brought in Yami for you?"

Yugi could only nod in response – his voice too raw for words.

"Then let me see what I can do, Honey."

+Save the Innocent: I want you+

Yami was on edge, literally, as he waited for Mai to exit from the room where his little aibou was currently housed. He was antsy, jittering from time to time as the exhausting, mixed with anxiety, mixed in with the overwhelming need to hold his Yugi in his arms and never let go.

When this was all over, he was going to lock Yugi up in their room for the next few months.

"Sorry that took so long," Mai gave everyone a gracious smile that seemed to have lifted the tension in the room slightly. "I had to check, then double-check, then of course triple-check to make sure everything was ready." They all nodded in understanding, since the room Yugi was currently resting in was probably used numerous times today due to the accident earlier on.

"How is he?" Kio and Yami voiced, simultaneously, what was on everybody's minds.

"Vitals are stable so far, but the bruises and injuries are extensive," Mai answered, leaning back against the cold, white wall of the waiting room. "We finally have enough doctors available to start the surgery – until then I can't give you the ending prognosis but afterwards we'll be able to know for sure how thing are going to go. But I have no doubt in my mind that everything will turn out just fine," she finished with a smile – pleased the she the collective sighs of relief that went around the room.

"That's good to hear," Kio muttered under his breath while tears prickled the corners of his eye.

"So, can we see him now, or do we have to wait until after the surgery?" the crimson-eyed teen knew he was being slightly impatient, and that Yugi's general welfare was the most important thing at the moment, but he wanted to fix things _now _between him and his aibou before things were too late.

If fate decided to take a turn for the worse, and Yugi left this world, Yami would never be able to live with himself – the guilt, the shame, the overwhelming emptiness in his heart that would never be filled.

"Actually, that's one of the main reasons I came out here." Mai slowly got up from her seat – a little bit reluctantly even though hospital chairs aren't he comfiest – walking over to Yami with a gentle smile on her face. "Yugi wanted to see you, hell he wouldn't stop crying and trashing over you, Honey. He wouldn't stop until I promised to let you see him. When you're ready – he's all yours."

The warm, inviting, wings off happiness enveloped the crimson-eyed teen as he thanked God for his opportunity that was granted to him. Yes, the slight twinge of sadness and guilt didn't pass by – because he could see the hurt looks from Kio, Jou, Kaiba and Solomon – but with the promise of letting Yugi know that everyone else was here as well, the rest of them seemed to have eased down a little.

With a few more prayers, and a mental slap across the face, Yami mustered up enough gumption to slide back the door between him and Yugi and step in.

+Save the Innocent+

After a few more sniffles, Yugi had finally recollected himself – or as much as he could anyway – as he gazed up at the blank, white ceiling above him. There were no fans, so he couldn't occupy his mind by trying to count how many times the fan circulated. There were no windows either, so he couldn't crane his head in any exact position so he could get himself lost in all of the scenery outside.

The heart monitor beeped loudly in his ears, the IVs were really starting to itch and the anxiety of waiting for Yami to step through that door was just about enough to kill him – that, and get the heart monitor to kick up a notch.

Just then, as the door slowly opened, Yugi's breath got caught in his throat as his eyes spied those familiar pair of ankle boots adorned with gold buckles. Then, his gaze flew upwards towards those blood-shot, but still beautiful, crimson-eyes that drew him in the moment they first met.

Finally, Yugi's purple irises landed upon those quivering lips that seemed to be debating if they should break out in a smile, or cease in a frown. Yugi was hoping for the former, however, seeing that Yami would be frowning for him sent a slight flutter in the pit of his aching stomach.

The room was silent as Yami closed the door behind him. He could hear his heart pounding and pounding in his ears – causing a slight dizzy spell to wash over him. As his footsteps clicked and clacked against the tiled floor of the hospital, his mind started to race a mile a minute.

'What do I say? No, I know what to say – I love you, Yugi, and I'm sorry. No, no, that won't work. I need to give him reassurance – that I still love him and no one else! Ugh, I don't know what to do!'

"Yami?" Yugi's quiet voice rang through his ears, causing the crimson-eyed teen to stop in his tracks. "I've wanted to see you… so bad," a small smile sprayed across his aibou's lips as a few more tears ran down his face, "I missed you."

The words played over and over in Yami's mind. Those raspy, yet uplifting words broke down Yami's resolve as he fell on the bed and – not so successfully – scooped Yugi in his arms - careful to not mess up any of the IVs.

He held his aibou in his arms, freely allowing the well-awaiting tears to stream down his face and splash on top of Yugi's spiky head. Yami cradled his angel, whispered loving words in his ears and repeatedly kissed the top of his head, his forehead, and his tears while he tried to gather himself, and his words, up enough to clear up the misunderstandings, heal up the cracks, and replace Yugi's anxieties and fears with love – only love.

"I'm so sorry, if I was just more careful, none of this would have ever happened." Yami started softly, slowly rocking Yugi back and forth in his arms. "Anzu – that son of a bitch – drugged me. I don't know with what, but whatever she put in my drink placed me in a state of being where I had no control over my body. Yugi, my love, Aibou, I promise you the thought of doing such things with Anzu never crossed my mind – ever!"

He cupped Yugi's face in his hands, peering straight into those listening and bright amethyst eyes that were causing Yami's insides to do summersaults. "My mind, was so confused, I thought it was you I was embracing with – but the cruel and twisted reality was it was Anzu instead. But don't worry; she's going to get what she deserves – a nice comfy cell in jail right where she belongs."

Yugi couldn't help himself, but the thought of Anzu going to jail did bring a small smile across his face. That and the fact that Yami was whole-heartedly putting his heart and soul into this confession was enough to cause Yugi to cry again, but he needed to stay strong just for a little while longer. He needed to grow stronger so that if something like this ever would happen again – he'd be ready to handle it straight on and not run away.

"I'm just – I'm really sorry, Yugi. I love you, so much. I can't even begin to describe how much I love you! When I thought that… - When we couldn't find you, I didn't want to believe that you would be," Yami swallowed down the word – he didn't even want to think about Yugi being dead. It was just too much for the situation. "The mere thought of finding you and fixing the damage that had been done; the whole drive that brought me here was just so I could tell you I love you, Yugi. I've said it numerous times already, and I'm not afraid to pass out from lack of breath because I used it all to say those three, special words to you."

With a final sigh, Yami paused to rest his forehead on top of Yugi's, gazing into those beautiful eyes knowing full well that Yugi was soaking this all in, even though he hadn't responded yet. However, the small fingers that were toying with his own was enough to know that Yugi wasn't mad anymore – if he ever was.

"Yugi, just – I don't know what more I can say. I'm so sorry, and I love you, and I promise I will never do anything to hurt you again! I am yours, forever, no one else can tear us apart and I just pray to God that -,"

Yami was caught off when a pair of soft, trembling, lips slightly brushed against his own. The mere contact sent shivers through both boys' spines. The kiss lasted for a few seconds, even though to Yami and Yugi it went on forever, but soon – and sadly – the two broke apart. Both were sporting blushes and smiles of their own at their mutual understanding.

"You're cute when you ramble," Yugi giggled softly, placing his hand on top of Yami's.

The crimson-eyed teen chuckled as he placed a warm and loving kiss upon Yugi's forehead. For a few more minutes, the two stayed in each other's arms, basking in the love and warmth their two bodies produced. If they could, Yami and Yugi probably would have stayed like that all day – daring anyone to come and try to split them apart again.

They were only going to grow stronger and stronger after this day – no matter what Life through at them.

"Sorry, Honey, but the doctors are ready now and we're going to start the surgery." Mai smiled brightly at the cute scene in front of her. 'Oh my, if only I brought my camera!'

Yami placed a chaste kiss on Yugi's forehead, running his fingers through Yugi's hair as he smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, Aibou, everything's going to be fine."

Yugi nodded softly, smiling upwards towards his love as their lips were magnetically brought together in another kiss. When the two broke apart, Yugi's amethyst eyes sparkled and shone in happiness, "I love you, Yami. I want you to be the first person I see when I wake up."

All Yami could do was bring Yugi into one more hug and kiss before they slowly broke apart from one another – very reluctantly. "I love you too, Aibou, and I'll make sure to be there when you wake up."

With those parting words of hope, Yami left the room.

* * *

Done, Done, and Done! Hope you all enjoyed Twenty and Hopefully I'll be back sooner with chapter 21 up and raring to go!

I honestly don't know what to do for said chapter... so do you guys have any ideas? :3. Feel free to share them with me, and I'll see what I can do! Hopefully I'll get some hit of inspiration :3.

Till Next Time :3


	21. Chapter 21

**Assassin Massie, I used your idea of doing this chapter in different points of views. Thank you very much for your idea :D.**

To everyone else, I've started my long and perilous journey for the treasure of inspiration, and I've think I've found it. This chapter, yes: It's a filler, but I feel like it just ties up a couple of ends with the characters.

Especially Kio and Eiji.

It's like, past 11:30 here, and I stayed up and finished this chapter for you guys! Because I love you all so much! We've hit 101 reviews! Never in my wildest dreams did I see myself getting this far - thank you all very much for taking the time to review (:.

Now then, I'm tired, and I have nothing else to say.

Read & Enjoy. (:

* * *

+Save the Innocent: Jou's POV+

"Kaiba…"

"Hm?"

"I want chocolate…"

"Get it yourself, Puppy." My so-called lover just scoffed at me and rolled his eyes. Bastard, I wasn't asking you to get up your lazy ass and grab me some chocolate, I was just trying to fill up the annoying silence!

Growling, I give Kaiba the best glare I could muster in my tired state and rolled on my side. My God, these seats were really hard, and I've been sitting on these things for how long? Yugi better be alright after this or I swear I might just be the reason he gets sent to the hospital again!

Just thinking about Yugi slightly ruins my hyperactive mood. Did I really expect him to want to see me when he woke up? Of course I did, even though I knew his only thoughts would have been on Yami but…

Ugh, slumping in my chair, I mull over my wicked jealously problem some more. Come on, Wheeler! You know for a fact that you and Yugi are closer than brothers and that, due to the fucked up situation we got ourselves into, the first person he'd want to see is Yami.

So I have nothing to be jealous over, right?

Oh fuck, resting my head in my hands I release a shaky and tired sigh from my lips. I haven't even been here for a whole day and I'm completely bored out of my damned mind! Maybe Yami's doing better than I am – no ,wait, scratch that. Yami's doing _much _worse than Kaiba and I could be doing, at the moment.

God, it looks like he's going through Hell and back over there with the way his eyes keep shifting from the empty chair, to the door where Yugi would be on the other side. He keeps biting on his nails – which Kaiba tells me will give you serious worms – and chewing his bottom lip raw.

I should probably go over there – you know, be a good friend and cheer Yami up a little bit, but… I don't think my blunt words would do much good in this situation; I need some air. Without so much as a word towards the others, I slowly get up from the chair and head out of the waiting room. Sure, I get a questioning look from Kaiba and Kio, but I know Kaiba will follow me sooner or later and Kio will probably just stay there and man the fort.

My stomach started to grumble by the time I passed the cafeteria – and who was I to ignore my tummy's pleas for food? Whistling an almost happy tune, I change my direction towards the lunch room. It wasn't that jammed pack with people, mostly sleepy children and a parent who were also probably stressed out by the fact their loved ones were probably hanging between life and death right now.

Ugh, just thinking about these sad things is getting me even hungrier! No, stop it right now, Wheeler! You have a delicious slice of apple pie right in front of you, begging to be taken – this is not the time to be depressed!

"Time to chow down!" Mmm, this pie was most definitely made by God's hands. The apples and crust ran together in a way that left my tongue tingling in excitement. Kind of like when I give Kaiba blowjobs…

Oh great, now I'm fucking horny.

"Fuuuuccckkkk," my head happily connected to the table with a loud thud. Not only do I have a tent pitched the size of Texas, I still can't get Yugi out of my mind. What if he doesn't make it? Or, what if, somehow the operation messes with his brain and he forgets all about us? Or worse, the doctors find out that he has some disease that's slowly draining his life away!

The possibilities are endless! And the more I think about them… the more tears are prickling my eyes.

"Cry any more and you'll get wrinkles," oh geez, you just had to show up, _now_, didn't you? Kaiba placed his finger underneath the tip of his chin and lifted my gaze upwards. "Wrinkles don't look attractive on you," he smirked at my scowl that just kept on growing.

"Bite me," I growled, even though I could tell by the smirk on his face that he has every intention to make my remark be turned into something incredibly sexual – not that I would mind…

"If that's what you really want," knew it. With out much disagreement, he should be damn happy that I finished my apple pie in one bite, I let my brunette grab me by the arm and drag me out to the café, only to lead me upstairs to the roof.

The cold air feels so good right now, you don't even know! You would think that, when you're up so high, the wind you literally rip up your face – but it does the exact opposite. It tickles your skin and makes you life. It gives you the feeling that you actually wanna fly!

But, I've tried that once and almost got myself killed – so I'm not really up for the whole flying feeling again.

"Doesn't this feel great?" I'm leaned up against the wired fence that keeps me from falling, but also gives me this kick ass view of everything below me: the little people, the tiny cars, and the other buildings surrounding us. I wonder if I spit, would someone be the poor suck of my attack.

"It does," his arms wrapped around my waist tightly as he snuggled into my neck.

His breath starts to tickle against my skin and it causes the something to crackle alive. Gosh darn it; I'm fucking blushing, aren't I?

"Kaiba…" I relax into his hug, the feeling sending all this warm tingles up and down my spine, along my arms, dancing across my waist, and tickling my insides. "Do you think Yug'll be okay?"

Kaiba looked me dead in the eyes, and for a few seconds I saw something flash between those normally cold, cobalt eyes of his. What was it… fear? Confusion? Hope?

"You're an idiot," or maybe none of the above.

"What the fuck, Kaiba!" I pushed off the scowling bastard and gave him a very nice finger before attempting to stomp off pissed as Hell. Of course, that fucking bastard has other plans and grabs me by the arm, only to pull me into a kiss and a, very long, hug.

"Do not just storm off like that before I'm finished, Puppy." Then give me a damn good reason to stay! He pulled me apart so that our faces were only a few inches away from each other. Our foreheads touch, and for the first time I could actually see what sort of affect this was all having on Kaiba.

He had bags on his eyes, and those cobalt irises lost that smug look to them. His normal smirk was turned upside down to a slight frown. Kaiba's hands shook, only slightly though, but I could still feel the nervousness spreading through his veins, through those nimble fingers that held onto my shirt for dear life.

"Jou, of course Yugi is going to be okay. That's why I called you an idiot for asking me that."

"But, if he really was going to be alright, if things were going to change for the better – why are we so on edge? Why do I feel like, after this, nothing's going to be the same anymore?

'Because, Puppy," he pulled me into another hug, those same trembling, nimble, fingers danced through my hair and massaged my scalp soothingly. My God… I love those fingers. "Things might never be the same again, but we shouldn't be fretting about that. We should be happy that we've found Yugi and that his father could be half-dead by now on that hospital again." Kaiba pulled me apart again just so he could smile down at me. The bastard grew at least three damn inches this year. "We have nothing to worry about, because Yugi's in good hands now. Besides, if anything were to happen, I could always sue the pants off of this hospital," and there's that lovely little smirk of his again.

"I think that's the most uplifting thing you've ever said to me, Seto." I playfully sneer his name, happily bringing out a deep growl from my lovely little CEO.

"You do know you're going to have to pay for that, right?" Kaiba's breath graced my ear – that's my sensitive spot – that sends me into a half-arousal almost immediately. I can tell by that damned look in his eye he's not going to just let me go with one, sweet and simple, make-out on the roof top.

Oh no, the boy's out for some ass today.

Not like I didn't feel the same way either. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I bring us closer so I can run my tongue against his bottom lip. I beg for entrance, probing and prodding the crease where the two lips connect until I receive a heavy moan and entrance into that delicious tasting mouth of his.

It tastes so much better than apple pie, I can tell you that much.

His hands somehow manage to find their way to my hips, and harshly grind against my budding arousal. The moan that escapes my lips and sends shivers down Kaiba's spine – and to all the right places – I can't help to release as our hard-ons keep rubbing against one another.

"Kaiba," the name rolls off my tongue as our lips finally break contact. We're both heaving hard, our hips were still rolling against each other, and we're still feeling very much in the mood to make love.

"You don't have to tell me twice," and before I can stop him he's already got my shirt pulled up above my head while his own naked chest is currently protecting me from the cold.

Is it sad that my snob of a boyfriend and I made love on a hospital roof?

+Save the Innocent: Kio's POV+

I should be happy, right? Right, I should be happy!

Okay, now that I've gone past the repetitive phase of my pep talk…

How long has it been really, a few hours? It seems more like days or months that we've been camped out in this little waiting room with blankets wrapped around our bodies, but our minds too far off in our own little world of thoughts.

Maybe… maybe if I never left in the first place, Yugi wouldn't be lying on that bed being operated on right now. He would have had a stable household with a mother, a father… a safe haven to call his own. If I found a different job, then I wouldn't have been away for so long, I wouldn't have gave Haruhi the opportunity to cheat on me – we would still be the same, perfect family Yugi so rightfully deserves.

Just thinking of the "maybes" or the "should haves" or the "would haves", just kept reminding me that what's been done is done, and I can't change that. The past is written in stone, and I can't surely erase that with my human hands.

I laugh softly to myself, when have I ever been this sentimental about anything? Releasing a shaky sigh, I realize that I've only started to truly ponder and think about these things only after I knew about Yugi's situation. Who knew it would be _now _that I've finally, actually, get to sit down and think over my life – go over those "maybes", "should haves", and "would haves" – it only took the near death of my son to do that.

"Hey, sweetie, you look pretty tired." Mai squatted down in front of me, with a warm smile on her face and a steaming cup of tea in her hand. "Don't worry; I didn't get you any tea from the café – that alone is enough to send you to the ER." I can't help but laugh as she hands me the cup and I start to drink it.

The warm liquid rushes down my throat and revitalized my senses that sends this warm sense of comfort through out my system. After a few more sips, I rest the cup down and my eyes immediately fall upon Yami. I think he's asleep, since his body looks much more relaxed than it was a few hours ago, but the constant movement of his lips are telling me otherwise.

Whether he's talking in his sleep, or quite possibly having a nightmare – I don't know. What I do know ,however, is that the person who was sitting next to him prior to the surgery is now nowhere to be found.

"Ms. Valentine-,"

"-Call me Mai, sweetie." There's that warm smile again.

"Mai," the warm smile just kept on increases – she's a very beautiful woman, "do you know that man went, the one who brought Yugi here?"

"Oh, you mean that prick with the stick up his ass, Eiji?"

"Um," the slight chuckle that bubbled out of my mouth suddenly escaped at that, very vivid, description of the man who saved my son's life a mere two days ago. "Yes, I think that's who I'm talking about."

"Then he's down the hall and to the right. You can't miss the prick."

"Thank you," she smiles bright me and says it was no problem at all – it's her job to help people anyways. "Before I forget, can you watch over Yami for me? His friends are off somewhere, and I have no idea when they'll be coming back."

"I've got it covered, sweetie." With one, final, nod I excused myself from the room and headed out to literally find my son's savior. It really wasn't that hard, the moment I saw him, his whole state of being screamed of one that was seriously not in the good mood.

Mind you, though, Eiji didn't seem like one of those happy, sunshine-y, type of person that you'd see skipping down hallways with a bright smile on his face: that sort of person would normally be me. However, Eiji seemed like the type of guy whose nerve strings were very thin and were always dangerously close to a lit flame of anger.

Wow, it seemed like heavy stress brings out the inner poet in me – who would have thought?

Clearing my throat slightly – that still didn't seem to faze Eiji – I start slowly on my appreciation towards him. "Um, this may seem out of the blue to you, or whatever, but I'd like to thank you for saving Yugi back there." This time, he actually turns around to give me a very bored look, followed by a scoff, and ending with him turning his back on me.

Okay, yeah, this guy was most definitely a prick.

"You know, the scoff wasn't necessary," leaning casually against the wall, I try, once again, to gain his attention. Shockingly enough – sense my sarcasm? – he doesn't even look my way again. Instead his gaze is directed solely on the Kyouske's lifeless body that's been hooked up to all sorts of wires and machinery – how my father could ever work in a place like this, I'd never know.

There he goes again, giving me that freaking cold stare and cocked eyebrow of his! Although, now that I've actually took the time to look at him closer, I can see bags under his redden eyes and a bit of stubble from a few days without shaving – even though we've only been here for a day.

"I only scoff at the idiotic things I hear during the day."

"There's nothing idiotic about giving someone the gratitude they deserve!"

"Last time I checked, I don't remember doing anything that worthwhile."

This guy really knows how to rouse up one, nasty, headache; doesn't he? Sighing, I try to at least scrap up some piece of sense out of all of this. "You brought Yugi here, when you could have just left him out there to die – I think that deserves a whole platter of thanks, if you ask me."

"No one asked you," Eiji folded his arms and gave started me down right there and then. It was like, he was trying to figure me out – read me, in some strange way. "I'm pretty sure anyone else would have done what I did – so it's really no big deal." After that, he turned away from me to continue his gazing.

"Do you honestly think someone would have found Yugi before it was too late?"

"Do you honestly think I give two flying shits if someone did?"

"You can't be serious!" now I was completely, and utterly enraged. I try to give my thanks to the man who saved my son's _life _and instead of kindly accepting it, like any normal human being would have, he just shrugs it off like it's no big deal.

"Look, you've obviously confused me for some saint of a man. Well, new flash pal – I'm nowhere near a saint." He gazed at me from the corner of his eye; all emotion was void from his voice. "The only reason I was able to find the brat was because I had to deliver the old bastard's wallet; he left it at the bar a few nights ago and I finally got around to giving it to him. On my way, I found your boy half-dead, half-alive, in the alleyway leading to their house." Eiji smirked, "You're pretty lucky that I was feeling compassionate that day."

My blood, it was boiling to the point where I could see flashes of red at the corners of my eyes. This, this – this absolute bastard! "Are you saying that, if you weren't feeling up to it, you would have just left Yugi there to _die_?"

He just shrugged, and that mere body movement nearly sent me lunging at him right there and then. "Maybe I would have, maybe I wouldn't have. Like I said, I'm no saint."

"You're a real bastard, do you know that?"

That sad look in his eyes, no matter how much he tried to hide it behind that smirk, I could see it clearly. "Funny, that's the last thing Kyouske said to me before all this shit reared its ugly head." With a, very long sigh – that also seemed to calm me down a little; only a little – Eiji turned his gaze back to the see-through glass. It was kind of like; his mind was off somewhere else. Even though he'd probably never admit it, he must really care for Kyouske.

The last bits of my anger were slowly dissipating as some part of my heart went out to this man. Yes, for lack of better words, he was an ass. But, I don't know his full story, and it seems like he does have some shred of compassion very, deep, down there.

"You and Kyouske, you guys were good friends?"

Eiji just scoffed, "If by, 'good friends', you mean I supplied him alcohol and he gave me good money – then yes, we were the _best _of friends." Even after my death glare and eye roll, this man still had enough nerve to shrug them off. "You know, it's probably my fault all of this shit happened. I knew what was going on; I just never did anything about it."

"Why would you say – Wait," I spun around and stared him dead in the eye. "You_ knew _this _whole _time what he was doing to Yugi and you did _nothing_?" I gripped him by the shirt collar, ready to knock this guy straight to the ground. However, once I saw that, very dim, lost and sad look in his eyes – I couldn't go through with it.

"No matter how much I'll hate to admit it, Kyouske and I were good friends. Would you really sell out your best friend, the man you've known since diapers, for a little boy you barely even know? Sorry if I sound like some stone cold bastard, but it's true." His eyes looked turned downcast, "It's actually a sad story, I've just stood there, for years, watching my best friend lose himself more and more into that fucking addiction… and now look what's happened. He's in a coma, and the doctors say there's a slim chance of survival." Eiji's voice dropped, for now, I could actually see where he was coming from.

Having to watch your best friend destroy his life, along with another, and feel almost some what apart of it in someway. But, it still didn't make sense to me why he felt like it wasn't his business in the first place! That's the one thing I can't wrap my mind around and it's bugging me out! No matter how much I try to search for answers, for any scrap of emotion, all I find is thick ice; hiding from me any forms of emotion.

Before I could say anything though, a doctor arrived giving us both a nod before he turned his gaze towards the see-through glass as well – by then, my grip on Eiji's collar was already gone.

"It's sad, isn't it?" neither one of us replied, however, but the heavy silence was a good enough answer for the both of us. "His only hope right now is life support but, that won't really matter if the person attached to it is in pain." The doctor gave us a sad smile, "Are you two family members or something?"

"Friend," was Eiji's quiet and quick reply.

I, on the other hand, didn't know how to answer him. So, without really voicing my opinion, my head silently moved from side to side; that seemed to be enough to console the doctor.

"Do you know any of his immediate family? I'm sure they'd like to come and visit."

This time, both Eiji and I let out a small scoff, "Already have that covered. His son's being operated on as we speak." Was Eiji's his blunt reply.

"I see," the doctor shifted on both his feet uncomfortably, "then I'm guessing, after his operation is complete and he is fully recovered, I should talk to his son about his options."

We didn't need any details about what he meant – we got the message loud and clear. Kyouske's life was literally in Yugi's hands; he could either keep him or life, or pull the plug. Such a great responsibility was now resting on Yugi's shoulders – would my son ever get a break?

"Sir, I don't think-,"

"Are you seriously going to give that much responsibility to a sixteen year old?" Eiji glared slits towards the doctor, shocking the both of us. I never expected to hear such raw emotion from him – it shook me to the core. "That's absolute bullshit, and you know it! You can't just hand over a life to a child, expecting him to know what to do with it; it would break him to pieces!"

"I can see your point here, Sir, but apparently this boy is Kyouske's only family. It's my job, and the law, that I allow his son to make the choice."

"Screw that – just screw it all to Hell! You can't honestly believe-,"

"-Eiji, that's enough," shaking my head quietly, I lay a calm, yet firm, hand on his shoulder. I can feel the tense muscles underneath my palm and by the few muscle spasms and gritting of teeth – it's obvious that Eiji is fuming mad. "When Yugi wakes up, I'll talk him about it and see what he wants." Turning my attention back to the startled doctor, I give him my most apologetic smile, "You'll have to excuse my friend, he gets very passionate involving things he cares about."

With an understanding nod, and an almost timid nod, the doctor bid us goodbye and left us alone. The silence was deafening, the only sounds were our intakes of breath and random foot scuffles against the floor. Shrugging off my hand, Eiji quickly started to walk away from me – probably childishly enraged by the thought that I called him passionate.

"You do care," I said softly, but it was loud enough to fly through the airwaves and land in Eiji's ears.

Stopping right in front of the door, he turned around glancing at me from the corner of his eye. "You don't know a damn thing," and walked out the door.

In reality, I think I've learned a lot more from this experience than expected.

+Save the Innocent: Remove that Mask+

+Mai's POV+

Cute people should never frown. Frowning causes massive wrinkles, and a boy at his age should not be trying to bite off his lower lip. Poor kid though, his lover's going through surgery and his only way of comfort is by praying that things turn out alright – which they will. I always believe in a happy ending.

"Keep biting on that lip of yours and you won't have any left to kiss Yugi with, dear." I laugh at the semi-shocked look on his face. My, it's like he's not used to my flirtatious dialogue yet. Anyway, I slipped into the chair beside him and offered him a fresh tissue which he gladly accepted. After a few, very loud, blows it seemed like he had calmed down slightly.

"He's going to be okay… right?"

I hate hearing that. Not those words, but the emotions _hidden _in those words. They were always there, just hiding underneath the surface. Ranging from guilt, to sadness or hate, and love – they'd always be there. The slight crack in his voice when he asked me that question, that crack immediately found its place in my heart and I just couldn't take it anymore.

"C'mon here, dear," when my motherly instincts kick in, there's absolutely no stopping them. I pulled Yami into a hug and tenderly stroked his long and spiky, tri-colored, locks. It wasn't an easy task mind you, seeing that the armrests were in the way, but somehow we managed, and as I rocked the disheveled teen in my arms, the melody to an old lullaby started to reverberate in my throat.

"Don't worry, okay? Worrying causes unnecessary stress that a cute guy like you doesn't need. Listen to me, dear, Yugi will be just fine. And before you know it, you'll be holding him in your arms just like this; whispering those sweet words of love and reassurance." I pulled him back at arm's length and smiled sweetly, "Doesn't that sound good?"

A warm, sort-of bubbly, feeling pooled in my stomach when I saw the top corners of his lips twitch into a small smile. "Yeah… it does."

That smile, those rays of hope that reflect in a person's eyes, the warm feeling that bubbles in my stomach – those are the reasons why I picked my profession in medicine – to give people hope.

And right now, hope's the one thing these people need the most.

* * *

Done, done and done, hope you've enjoyed.

Chapter 22, I'll be looking back at my plotlines that I typed up but never followed and see what to do. If you have any ideas, please feel free to share.

I'm heading off to bed, Night everyone (:


	22. Chapter 22

What's that on the horizon! Is that a new chapter of Save the Innocent :OOOO!

By George, I think it is!

Guys, thank you one and all for your reviews! You make my day so much brighter! :D.

This chapter is pure fluff - so enjoy because I'll be getting angsty the next to chapters. Mwahahaha!

Read & Enjoy (:

* * *

+Save the Innocent: Three Months Later+

Yami's grip on the fragile boy's hand tightened slightly while his other hand was running and playing with the little one's spiky, tri-colored locks.

"Hey, love," Yami whispered, a smile was slowly sneaking its way across his face. "Today was pretty boring, as usual. Jou and Kaiba brought Mokuba along to visit you again, so I'm pretty sure you already got your daily earful for the day."

The crimson-eyed teen chuckled while he stroked Yugi's palm, "Wake up soon, okay?" with those few words, Yami leaned into to lightly brush his lips against his little one's. He relished in the taste his aibou still held, even while being in a drug-induced coma for the past three months.

"Sleeping over again, sweetie?" Mai brought over a cup of coffee and a blanket for Yami, before settling into a chair next to him, "I could bring up another hospital bed for you if you'd like." She smiled sweetly, "Not the comfiest thing around, but you'll be closer to him that way than if you went back to your home."

Yami smiled graciously back, "Thanks, I'd appreciate that." The crimson-eyed teen casted his gaze over Yugi's motionless body. Every day, before visit hours, he would sit in this room and just talk to Yugi. Sometimes about mindless things like the weather, and other times, heart-wrenching sobs would escape Yami's throat as he openly wept against Yugi's body, praying to God that his aibou would finally open his eyes.

Mai came back in after leaving prior to get the bed, and wheeled it in next to Yugi's own bed. "Here you go, sweetie." She smiled as she patted down the blankets and fluffed out the pillows. While Yami got himself situated on the bed, Mai made some few adjustments on Yugi's IV straps, checked the monitor, and leaned in to kiss the little teen's forehead.

"You've got everybody worried sick about you," she whispered softy. "So, wake up soon. It'll make them happy," with that said, Mai switched off the lights and left the two sleeping lovers alone with their hands intertwined.

+Save the Innocent: Later That Night+

Voices…

Yugi heard voices, whispering softly in his ears. They told him things that he couldn't really make out. One voice, however, was much more defined – and stood out before the rest.

That rich, velvety voice that always sent shivers up the little one's spine. That voice that belonged to a pair of crimson-red eyes that shone brightly against rich, Egyptian-tanned skin. The same voice that would lead Yugi out of the darkness he was trapped in, and into… even more darkness.

Long eyelashes fluttered open slowly, as deep, amethyst eyes got adjusted to the dimness of the room he was in. Yugi vaguely remembered what happened during, after, and even a little bit before the surgery. His only thought that ran through his head though, was that he was alone in this dark hospital room. Yugi's dreams that involved him and Yami, happy, carefree, in love were just dreams – as simple as that. And now, Yugi wished that he never had woken up in the first place.

Just then, Yugi felt something grip at his hands, and a husky voice mumble something that was too quiet for him to catch. The smaller one rolled his head to the side to find out the source of such a noise. His eyes widened largely when he realized that Yami was, in fact, sleeping right next to him with their fingers intertwined.

Memories were seeping through now. Those hidden thoughts that felt like mere dreams to the little one were flooding through at full force – slowly clearing away his confusion. Yami did visit him, and the misunderstandings between them were finally cleared. The cracks that were caused by Anzu had been filled with the love that the two had for one another.

Just the sight of seeing Yami there, right beside him where he was meant to be, caused silent tears to streak down Yugi's face. Lightly squeezing the crimson-eyed teen's hand, Yugi slowly stroked the tan hand as gently, and as much, as he could until Yami finally roused from his sleep.

Yami groaned slightly, mumbling something incoherent as his eyes started to get adjusted to the dimness. As everything start to come into focus, Yami's eyes suddenly widened in amazement at the sight in front of him. His aibou was awake, smiling that angelic smile that he fell in love with at first sight. Silent tears were flowing from his love's face, but he hastily did away with those tears by leaning forward and kissing them away.

He was too amazed to speak, to overjoy to be able to voice what he was feeling into words. Holding back a sob, Yami carefully scooped up his aibou into his arms, and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. What started off as sweet and innocent, quickly progressed into a passionate, and deeper kiss, as both wanted to taste the other to make sure what they were experiencing was real.

Yami's tongue gently prodded the crease where Yugi's two lips connected, silently begging for entrance. The little one moaned softly, giving Yami the opportunity to plunge his wet appendage into Yugi's mouth – exploring every inch of the deliciously tasting cavern.

He massaged the inside of Yugi's cheeks, and the roof of his mouth before the two engaged in a battle of tongues – a battle which Yami won a quick victory over. The need for air was slowly becoming apparent, so the two broke off their kiss with a thin line of spit covering the distance between their lips like a make-shift bridge.

Yugi smiled. His face was tinted rosy pink – which stood out much more proudly as his skin was considerably pale due to being in the hospital so long – and his jewel-like eyes were hazed with lust and love.

The sight of his little lover, taking in small gasps of air to steady his breathing, was absolutely breathtaking to Yami. He couldn't help himself, and grabbing Yugi into an embrace; completely ignoring all the wires.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," Yami whispered into the crook of Yugi's neck before placing a chaste kiss on the blushing skin. His grip on his aibou's waist tightens slightly as the two snuggled on the bed.

"I was waiting for the right moment," Yugi giggled at the minor scoff that escaped Yami's lips. He silently placed his hands on top of Yami's clasped hands and whispered, "You kept your promise…"

Yami smiled softly at Yugi's thoughtfulness. After all that his little one had been through, it was almost expectant for him to want reassurance and stability from Yugi's most precious person.

"Of course I'd be here when you wake up. I wouldn't want you to be scared, uncertain, _and alone_ anymore, Yugi. I'll be by your side forever, and I'll never let you go." He emphasized each promise with a kiss on Yugi's shoulder.

Yugi closed his eyes and hummed happily. The happiness and love that was surrounding them was making his spirit feel so much calmer. "What day is it anyways?" the smaller one asked after a few moments of silence passed.

Yami couldn't help but smirk slyly, "Your birthday."

"Oh…" Yugi was silent until the realization hit him; "Oh!" if Yami wasn't holding onto him as he was, Yugi would have sprung up from his position on the bed. "It's already March?" the little one couldn't believe that he had been sleeping for _that_ long. Weren't they just a week or two into December? How could it have been three months by now?

"Yup, you've been taking one hell of a nap," Yami chuckled. He didn't have to see Yugi's face, to know that an adorable pout had taken over his features. "But I'm so glad you've woken up now. I missed you, Aibou. I missed hearing your laugh. I missed seeing those beautiful eyes of yours. I missed being able to hold you in my arms like this." Yami whispered softly into Yugi's ears, knowing that his voice was slowly lulling his little one to sleep.

"I love you, Yugi. Happy birthday," Yami kissed his love, before he too felt the tugs of sleep pulling him backwards.

"I love you too, Yami." They fell asleep in each other's arms.

+Save the Innocent: Words Can't Describe How Much I've Missed You+

+A Few Weeks Later+

"Welcome home, Yugi!" Mokuba and Jou screamed in unison, before running up to the little one and tackling him into a hug, just as he and Yami were entering the door.

"We've missed yah so much, Yug!" Jou cried, hugging onto Yugi's waist.

"Very much!" Mokuba emphasized, attacking Yugi's legs in the process.

"Guys, Yugi _just_ got home from the hospital after a _very _extensive surgery. Lay off him a little," Kaiba warned, pulling both Mokuba and Jou by the arms off of a grateful Yugi. "Welcome home, Yugi," the brunette allowed one carefree smile to grace his lips as he welcomed his friend.

"Thanks Kaiba," Yugi smiled softly, before running up to Kaiba and initiating the hug first – one Kaiba would actually respond back to.

"Alright guys," Yami got a hold of Yugi and pulled him into an embrace of his own, "You've all gotten to squeeze the daylights out of Yugi, now it's my turn." The crimson-eyed teen growled lowly into Yugi's ear before giving it a gentle nip.

The blush that flooded Yugi's face did nothing to ease down the roaring laughter Jou was making.

"Yami's gonna get some tonight!" the blonde held his sides, and literally had to lean on Kaiba to support himself from falling. Of course, the brunette was scowling the whole time at his Puppy's immature ways, and gave him a – not so nice – tap on the head.

"Behave yourself, Puppy," Kaiba growled. He sent an apologetic smile Yugi's way. "Excuse the idiot; he gets excited far too easily nowadays."

"Thanks to you," Jou mumbled under his breath, but he knew Kaiba would have caught the snide – yet somewhat perverted – remark.

"Well then, if you three don't mind," The crimson-eyed teen grabbed Yugi behind the legs and supported him princess style, wearing the smuggest grin in the world. "My aibou and I have a lot of catching up to do." Ignoring Yugi's protests – even though his little one was giggling from the prince-like behavior Yami was showing – the Egyptian carried Yugi upstairs until the only sound the three downstairs heard was the slamming of a door.

"Kaiba, why don't you carry me like that anymore?" Jou whined playfully at his mock-scowling lover.

"Because, every time I _tried _you'd either topple me over, or bite my arm off trying to get yourself down." The brunette smirked at Jou's pout, "If you'd like, we could always try again."

The blonde was already in Kaiba's arms before he could blink, "You don't have to tell me twice!" and with that loudly proclaimed statement, Kaiba trudged up the stairs with a clinging puppy until Mokuba was left all alone downstairs.

"They're such weirdoes," but the little lion laughed anyways as he hurriedly went back to his own room before he'd get a chance to hear Jou and Kaiba's love-making next door.

+Save the Innocent+

"Yami~ let me down already!" Yugi pounded his fists against Yami's defined chest with about as much force as a baby's punch would have.

Ignoring Yugi's pleas completely, Yami continued to carry his aibou around the room. Twirling, spinning, and swaying Yugi back and forth until they both felt like they were going to be sick. The crimson-eyed teen laughed as Yugi feigned sickness and gently laid him down against the bed, slowly crawling on top of him to place a passionate kiss on Yugi's lips.

Their tongues dueled for dominance – but Yami was always the inevitable winner. Yugi couldn't help but mewl as his lover's hands stealthily traveled along and tickled his sides. The pain that he felt weeks ago from his surgery, was now finally gone, meaning that the two could get as "involved" as they wanted to, and the only pain that Yugi would feel was a sore ass in the morning.

But then there came the whole idea of having sex with Yami. Yugi knew that his body, heart, and soul belonged to the crimson-eyed teen, but there was so much left unresolved right now that he didn't know if he could mix the feelings of confusion and loss with pleasure and ecstasy.

Yugi was broken out of his thoughts when he felt a warm tongue lap at his neck, pulling out a throaty moan that traveled through Yami's ears and straight to his half-mast member.

He lifted his head upwards, so he could stare down at the marvel that was Yugi. Brushing a few strands of hair away from that beautiful, porcelain face, Yami placed a gentle kiss on Yugi's forehead.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he whispered. The two hadn't gotten that far, and that's how Yami wanted it to be. He didn't want to rush things for Yugi – especially after everything that has happened, and all the troubles that would follow shortly after. If Yugi was ready to give himself up to him, then Yami would happily comply.

He would fill Yugi with his essence, and make sure that any trace of Anzu was ridden from his body, and replaced with everything that was Yugi.

"I don't know," Yugi feebly whispered back after a few moments of consideration. He felt like he had disappointed Yami, for not being able to go through with "it" yet. But, from the compassionate twinkle in those crimson eyes, and how Yami's smile seemed to get brighter; all of Yugi's doubts were quickly washed away.

"Then I guess instead of having _you _for dinner, I'm going to have to stick with regular food." Yami laughed, ruffling Yugi's hair, before he stood up from the bed and collected the tray that was sitting opposite of where the bed was.

The air that surrounded him was that as a gentleman as he delivered the tray of food to Yugi, while he propped the little one up on the bed. Yami took his place beside Yugi with his fingers already playing in those gorgeous locks of his.

"I have a few things to tell you," Yami started out after Yugi started to dig into his food. All he needed was those purple eyes to look at him with recognition before he continued, "First off, since we weren't able to celebrate your birthday properly, I thought I could at least do something for you, and made this dinner for you last night."

No wonder everything looked so lavish! At first, yes, Yugi was quite surprised by the random appearance of fancy food being brought to him, but he sort of lost himself in the magnificent taste of it all.

The spaghetti was properly boiled, and whatever sauce Yami had used sent all of Yugi's taste buds crackling to life. Side dishes were two sticks of garlic bread already sliced in half and slathered in butter. And finally, what would a fancy dinner be without a soda as the beverage?

"Kaiba wouldn't let me go down to the wine cellar," Yami leaned back and let out a laugh as Yugi rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I hope the deliciousness of your birthday dinner will make what I'm about to say more bearable."

Yugi took another sip of his soda, "Go on"

"Well, Kyouske's on life support as we speak. Apparently the doctors were going to give the rights to pull the plug to Eiji, but Kio said that Eiji told them that he didn't have the rights to do that, so, since you were going to be okay, along with the fact that you're Kyouske's living relative, the doctors handed the decision to you."

The little one froze. It always seemed like life and death were going to be constant opponents for as long as he lived. When he was with Kyouske, he was always struggling for his life, and he was always battling death – and apparently, that's how things were going to be played out until Kyouske died.

Now, Yugi held the balance between Kyouske living – even though the chances were slim – and him dying. Sure, he's always thought that his life might have been better if Kyouske were to just die, but after all, Kyouske was Yugi's father, and as much as he hated to admit it, he would always hold some sort of affection towards the man he used to call "father".

'How could they give me such a responsibility?' Yugi held his face in his hands, trying to sort out his own thoughts. He felt reassurance come over him as Yami's hand started to rub soothing circles on his back.

"You don't have to choose now, but the decision will have to be made one day. And when it does," Yami kissed Yugi's forehead, "I'll be right there with you," he whispered softly.

"Thank you," Yugi smiled. Then, he resumed his dinner, while Yami started to explain what else he needed to talk about.

"Anzu's been arrested," Yami bit out slowly. He could still feel those lost traces of anger pool in the pit of his stomach, "but they haven't started the hearing yet. Now that you're out of the hospital though, Kaiba said we should be expecting word about it in the next few days."

Just great, yet another heavy burdened placed on Yugi's shoulders. If he had to handle all of this alone, Yugi was sure he would have suffered a mental breakdown by now. Wonderful thing was, Yugi wasn't alone. He had a huge pillar of support from his friends, and newly found family; just the mere thought of knowing that he wasn't truly alone anymore, brought a few stray tears and a smile to appear on Yugi's face.

"I think I'll be able to handle that," Yugi replied thoughtfully, wiping away those stray tears. The rest of his dinner was eaten in silence, until Mokuba opened the door and called for Yugi – apparently, Kio was on the phone wishing to talk to him now that Yugi was out of the hospital.

Handing the tray Yami, he placed a chaste kiss on his lips and a few whispered words that dangled in the air, "Thank you, for everything." Smiling, Yugi rushed out of the room to go for the phone.

Who knew that only four words could mean so much?

* * *

Tears up- Beautiful ending! But Save the Innocent is not done yet! (I think o.o)

So, I was checking my plotlines for this, and I was WAAAAAAY off. Like, you don't even know. For this chapter, I originally planned to skip ahead to years with Yugi in a coma - apparently that didn't happen. :L So HOPEFULLY! I can actually stick to my plot and end up with 34 chapters instead of shorter...

Because that would suck, wouldn't it?

ALSO! To anyone who has read Shattered or Match Made By Destiny, after the rabid plot bunnies stop gnawing at my brain, I **will** be rewriting those two stories. Which, in my opinion, is long over due. But, I might rewrite Shattered first, then MMBD, IDK! Wherever my inner writer leads me to, I will follow... sort of~.

I hope you enjoyed chapter 22! :D Next chapter we focus primarily on Eiji's and Kyosuke's relationship. Kio's intrigue with Eiji, and whether or not Yugi pulls the plug!

Till next time (:


	23. Chapter 23

You may all now kiss my feet! For I have updated early! :D

Well... I think it's early anyway o.o.

Anywho, IT'S SUPER BOWL SUNDAY! And today just SCREAMED to write up another chapter of STI, so I did :D.

This fanfic might come out faster... now that I want to devout all my energy into writing this.

-Cough- And getting this finished -Cough-.

NO WORRIES! There will be a sequel :3.

**This chapter is in Eiji's POV the whole time.**

Read and Enjoy~

* * *

+Save the Innocent: Screw This+

+Eiji's POV+

Why am I here again?

That's the question that's been gnawing on my nerves non-stop as I'm leaning against the wall opposite of Kyouske's room. These nervous jitters would pop out of nowhere, causing a hand to twitch, or a nail to suddenly look very desirable. My mask of indifference must be slowly cracking also. From what, I honestly don't have a fucking clue, but as I look through the see-through glass, and my eyes land upon the still body of my best friend – I know why.

Jesus, why is it _always _this idiot who makes me feel this way?

I'm not supposed to be on edge like this. I'm not supposed to have these "what ifs" coursing through my mind.

'What if he doesn't make it?'

'What if he does?'

'What if I could have prevented his life from spiraling downwards into the filthy hands of alcohol?'

And along with those "what ifs", my cynical side is taunting me on how I've suddenly become more poetic and caring. Well bull, it's a Sunday after all. So I'm using the Lord's Day as an excuse for these sudden feelings of 'compassion'.

Speaking of Sunday, I shouldn't even _be _in this hospital at the moment. It's near noon, and visiting hours are only between three to seven – the only reason I'm here is because of that blonde nurse allowing me in so early– and I should have been staying home, watching football and drowning my sorrows in a half-empty bottle of coke.

But _no_, instead I'm here, leaning against the sanitized wall of a fucking hospital, standing in a hallway, staring at my eggplant best friend, literally feeling the weight of Death on my shoulders.

I involuntarily shudder at my own mention of 'Death'. Sure, just seeing the idiot's lifelessly body, strapped to a million wires and tubes, looking more like bones than skin, wouldn't have affected me as much – the sorry sucker had it coming to him, in my opinion. But, the whole atmosphere I've sadly stuck myself into – now _that _was some seriously scary shit.

The hallway lights flickered on and off, and the hallway was primarily dark seeming as none of the doctors or nurses had to come through here as often. Kyouske's room gave off an eerie, sci-fi like, green glow that made everything in inside of it look like it was some part of an alien space ship.

Time was standing still to me, and every time I checked my clock, only one single minute had passed by. You'd think Death would speed itself up to pick up another victim, but I guess its having some leeway for the vegetable strapped to the wires of machines.

Only until that brat comes though.

Speaking of the brat, where is he anyways? Surprisingly enough – more surprising than finding myself _here _on a Sunday afternoon – that brat, Yugi, was always here with that look-alike of his, and Kio – the infuriating father. If it were me, and I had been put through that sort of Hell, I would have pulled the plug long ago, and never once regret it, because the bastard was getting what was coming to him.

But, even after going through the idiot's spouts of insanity, the poor fool still held some sort of loving compassion for Kyouske.

That was something I'll never understand.

I check my watch once again, and it's almost one thirty. Oh great, I've only been here for almost four hours, now. Sighing, I cross, then uncross, then cross again my ankles because honestly, after a nervous outburst, I've bitten off most of my fingernails to the nub, and without the constant gnawing sound, I've retreated to moving some part of my body to release my nervousness.

It wasn't really helping much.

Tired of just standing there – Kyouske wasn't going to be moving anytime soon – I start to head for the double doors, just to get a brighter outlook on things, when I see the face of the one man I didn't want to see so early in the afternoon.

The freaking, infuriating, father…

"Ah, Eiji!" why does he have to act so familiar? I sigh when I see that light awaken in those dark, purple eyes of his. I sigh even more when I realize he's making a beeline straight for me, with the two brats trailing behind him holding hands.

How sickening…

(AN/: No, Eiji's not a homophobe, silly children, he's just not up for displays of affection so early in the afternoon.)

"Why are you here?" I bit out. The question was pretty stupid – I'll even admit to that – because it was obvious that the idiot father brought these two to see Kyouske the vegetable. Oh, maybe if I'm lucky, the brat will finally decide to do something!

Or maybe I'm just kidding myself and the brat's just going to sit there, all downcast and shit, wondering what the hell he should do with his idiot of a stepdad.

"You already know the answer to that," Kio nodded over towards the brat and his boyfriend, sitting side by side in hushed conversation.

Grimacing only slightly, I'm only going to make a scoff in response because I'm too tired to get my wits all flared up due to this upbeat man.

Instead, I briskly walk passed Kio – who looks fairly normal considering I just brushed him off – with the sheer determination to head towards the café for a bite to eat. The food will probably taste terrible, but anything's better than sitting there, feeling so agitated by the fact that that little brat won't make up his damn mind already.

"Need some fresh air?" how the hell did he catch up to me so quickly? Alright then, I'll just have to give him the cold shoulder while I fight off the impending headache about to attach itself to my skull.

Turning the corner, I dash left and right between hurried nurses and tired doctors, but Kio doesn't know how to take a hint! Unless… he's just doing this to annoy me – which was working out quite well – then I'll just have to kick up my 'asshole level' a notch or two.

I'm walking fast now, and I can see the cafeteria doors approaching, and the smell of something hot – and maybe even tasteful – hits my sensory ways. But before I can make it to the safe haven, Kio's one step ahead of me and blocks me from the doorway.

Alright then, the guy's not too fond of the cold shoulder, I take.

"I don't like to be ignored," you could have fooled me, "so tell me what's wrong."

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Because you have that sad look in your eyes… something's bothering you."

So, maybe the guy isn't as much of an idiot as I thought – doesn't mean I find him any less annoying.

Sighing, I know I'll probably never make it pass him in my state of mind. So, I take the less excruciating – but still annoying – method of attack and drag the buffoon outside with me.

The spring air actually feels really good right about now. And all the bright colors, and the fresh smell of rain, quickly wipe away all the bleakness that that hospital hallway had to offer.

We find a nice place to relax on, not too far from the hospital, and an okay view of the cars driving by and the buildings across from us. I rested against the wall, fishing out a lighter but not a pack of cigarettes – those things kill – and I lazily flick the cap up and down, amazed at the little canister that could be so deadly in the wrong hands.

"You smoke?" Kio asked me from his kneeled spot on the ground. He wasn't really looking at me; he was more focused on the puffy white clouds hanging in the sky above us.

"Nah, that stuff is shit for your body," I keep flicking the cap open than closed. "It's just a nervous habit I've developed."

"Like crossing, then uncrossing, your ankles are?"

Attentive little bastard, he is. "I suppose."

"You're nervous over Kyouske," his question is more like a statement in my ears. And if I were a dartboard, his dart would have made a perfect bull's eye.

"No, I'm not." It was so easy to lie through my teeth, and even easier for him to see through it.

"You don't have to lie."

"And you don't have to be annoying. But you still are."

Kio let out a sigh, before he changed his position so that he was staring right at me – giving me the perfect opportunity to examine those mysterious eyes of his…

What the fuck? No, why am I acting like this? I mentally shake my head and, almost like a mantra, repeat to myself that the only reason I'm acting like this is because of the unneeded stress that's been added on to me today.

"Why are you so defensive?"

"Why are you so nosy?"

"I'm not going to sit around here all day and play Twenty Questions."

"Neither am I."

"Do you always act like this?"

"Like what?" even though I know what he's implying.

"Defensive, cynical, closed off."

"Closed off and defensive are the same thing," I silently add in the word fucktard, because I didn't feel like it was the right time to throw him off his rant… just yet.

"You're not catching my point here," he sighs once more, before his purple eyes turn dark as a more serious tone seeps through his voice. "Talk to me."

"About?"

He mumbled something along the words of 'stubborn guy' before he closed his eyes and counted to ten. I couldn't help but smirk.

"Unlike you, I hate beating around the bush," fooled me again there, "so I'm just going to say what I'm thinking right now. You're hurt. Yet you don't want to admit that. You're concerned over your best friend's health, yet you act like you really couldn't care less. I don't know your situation with Kyouske, but I'll bet everything I own that you know more about the real him than Yugi will ever know." His gaze pierced me, right to my cold and beating heart as his words started to sting and sink in.

"You should never bottle things up inside. It's not healthy. So talk to me, because I honestly don't think you'll have anyone to listen to once Kyouske's gone."

This man, this absolute stranger, this idiot, has actually managed to put a crack in my defensive wall. There's something wrong with this man. The way his eyes can be so beautiful, mysterious, caring, and serious all at the same time. And how his voice was even, but he was letting true compassion seep through his words.

It wasn't fair, dammit! Couldn't this idiot just leave me alone, console that brat or something, and allow me to sulk? So yes, I am feeling miserable – I'll admit it now. I'll be losing my best friend sooner or later, and in reality he's probably the only person I would openly refer to as a best friend when the need arises.

Now, this freaking Kio guy just walks it out of the bloom, and starts to bring down every defense mechanism I've ever programmed to their breaking point.

My headache is rousing its ugly head again…

I sigh, because I've already ran out of the energy, strength, or wit, to continue with any banter or arguments of any sort. So, as I slide down to meet with him at eye level, I swallow down every bit of pride that's been bubbling up my throat, hoping to escape, and sigh as I'm about to break every code, and law I've ever set for myself.

"If that idiot were to die… I'd be losing the best customer I ever had," I let a dry laugh escape my lips at the mock glare I receive from Kio. He gets my point just fine, so the glower wasn't really needed. "Along with that… the guy was a good friend. He was a quiet guy, always observant, always kind… those are the worst type of people when they come into contact with alcohol.

"I remember the night, when he first became addicted. I remember because the idiot was sulking about how his wife seemed a little off nowadays. Never giving him any attention, always running to the bathroom where he'd hear retching sounds at nights, and when he'd tried to comfort her, but only to be pushed away.

"He blamed Yugi for all of that. Why? I'll never know." I gazed up towards the sky, "My guess was that he was already going psychotic, even before the alcohol messed him up. So anyways, he comes in, all sulky and depressed, cursing that brat of yours to every god he knew. Then, he asked me for my strongest drink.

"I was taken aback, really, because Kyouske was never a drinker – not even during his wedding reception. So when he asked for my strongest drink, I was seriously starting to worry. But I couldn't shake him off; he would keep bugging me and bugging me. Pleading how much he needed to take his mind off of his wife sudden coldness.

"So, I did the stupid thing, and gave him a half-pint of the drink he asked for, and he nearly doused it down like he was trapped in the Sahara for months. The look he gave me after the drink settled into his system…" I shuddered involuntarily, "it terrified me."

"You feel like it's your fault, then." the sudden, quiet, voice snapped me out of my thoughts, even though I highly doubt it was directed towards me. Kio's eyes were covered by a shadow, but his hands were clenched so tightly, it was almost like what I said struck some hidden nerve or something.

"I don't feel like it's my fault," I bit out venomously, but it was more directed towards myself. "I _know _it's my fault. If I never gave him that drink, if I just slapped him around a couple of times and told him to 'suck it up', he wouldn't be on the brink of death!"

My voice escalated to a shout, and it startled both me and Kio more than I realized. Feeling some slight embarrassment from my outburst, I start my nervous habit once again of flicking the lighter cap opened than closed.

What happened next, nearly made me drop the open lighter in my hands. Kio's arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders, pulling me into a hug that I needed much more than I realized.

I relaxed instantly to his touch, his comfort, his security. And, to my surprise, I allow him to tighten his hold on me, and rest his head on top of mine – damn Kio and his height, yet his child was so small. His fingers rub soothing circles on his back, and even though he may have looked tall and lanky, but in reality it did seem like the guy had a few muscles to be proud off.

"You don't know what would have happened," his quiet words sailed through my ears, and gave me this dull, achy feeling somewhere in my chest. "I know… because I wonder the same thing every day about my actions. 'What if I stayed?', or, 'What if I had done this, or that?', but we just don't know, Eiji… we just don't know." Kio let out a shaky sigh. "All we can do, is move on, and hope for the best. Hope that, what we do now, will somehow make up for the actions we did in the past."

I feel something wet cloud my vision. It stings, and my heart is aching. What's this feeling pooling in my gut? Why do I feel like this man, holding me in his arms, knows so much about how I'm feeling inside right now?

The scoff comes out of my throat before I even realized I was crying, "You talk like you've experienced the guilt that's been held over my head for so long." Dammit, my voice is cracking.

The smile he gives seeps through his words. So I don't even have to look up to see that annoying, goofy grin of his.

"Not your guilt, obviously," I rolled my eyes at that statement. "But I have shared my own decent amount of guilt, and it's still being weighted on my shoulders as we speak, but I can't just sit and wallow in my grief. That's why I'm doing everything I can _now _to make up for the stupid mistakes I did _then_."

He pulls me back a little so we're staring face to face, and I can't help but think that the guy looks pretty decent for a man who looked like he would never age to thirty. His face was sort of timeless…

If I hadn't already damned this man already, let me do it now and say: Damn this idiot for making me feel so sentimental!

"Are you still with me?" he asked me with a smirk.

I scoff, and stick to a scowl. "You never lost me," I retorted.

He just laughs, and pulls me into another hug – this one more bone breaking. I struggle in his touch, but after awhile I just calmed down into his embrace once more, falling into that sense of security…

We stand there for a few minutes, until we both felt like we left the two boys alone long enough. Kio, like the idiot he is, was, and always will be, stuck his hand out offering to take my own hand to lead us back.

"You're an idiot," I snarled, marching right passed the smiling idiot and trudging back to the hospital with at least _some _of my dignity in tact.

Once we arrived back into the hallway, we walked into a lovely sight of the brat in the taller brat's arms, balling his eyes out. Kio was already right by his son's side, rubbing soothing circles on his back and asking what was wrong.

I felt so out of place there, now. Like I was on the outside of a fish bowl, looking into the world of the fish swimming around – wanting to be involved, and wishing my finger didn't get rebounded by the glass.

Taking the aloof route, I leaned against the wall again – no, I didn't pull out my lighter this time – and stared towards the lifeless body of Kyouske. Funny how I ended up at the same spot I was prior before the idiot came and broke me down.

I'm guessing the brat finally chose to do something with Kyouske's condition, and based on the sobs, the decision he chose was probably eating his heart out bit by bit. But the kid would be okay. Sure, he had lost a _lot _to Kyouske – innocence, trust, a mother – but now he had a family, one that would truly give their right arms for him.

I can't help but wonder what it would be like… to be in a position where you know you're never truly alone anymore.

"Eiji, do you have any spare tissues? I can't seem to find any," Kio's eyes dance with – is that mischief? – as everyone's attention turn towards me.

I'm so tempted to reply with a sarcastic reply like: 'Yes, because I'm the type of man who always keeps a box of Kleenex in his pants pocket'. Instead, when my eyes landed on dark purple, than onto bright amethyst rimmed with red, something was tugging at my dull heart strings. Telling me to stop being such an ass and get the kid some tissues.

Barely nodding, I run out quickly and swipe a box of tissues off of a nurse's desk and ran back, not even out of breath. "Here yah go, Kid." I rub his nose almost playfully with the tissue. "Purple and red don't mix together."

The kid laughed – it was actually really pretty – apparently getting my joke and gratefully taking the tissue.

"Thank you," he smiled quietly.

"So Yugi, you've made your decision?" Kio asked after a few moments of silence – minus the loud nose blowing coming from the brat.

Yugi nodded slowly, "Yeah… I did." Everything stood still, and the air was starting to get heavy as Kio and I waited for Yugi's answer. It seemed like hours until Yugi finally gave out his quiet reply.

"I'm going to pull the plug."

* * *

DRAMATIC CLIFF HANGER!

Lmfao, you'll all probably happy that Kyouske's gonna die o,..,o...

I am too... SORT OF :D.

Aren't Kio and Eiji the bees knees? 8D They're soooo cuteee my little OC'S :D.

And now, I've completely given up on trying to follow my original plot lines - they were MUCH more angstier than this right now... but who knows, I could probably make another fanfic of like "SAVE THE INNOCENT: THE LOST FILES" and like, right up oneshots of what were SUPPOSED to happen :D.

Tell me all what you think of that idea.

Hope you enjoyed chapter 23! See you next time :3.

Next time: The plug is pulled, and we focus more on Anzu and Duke before the trial (:. Very dramatic and angsty mwahahah!

Don't forget to review! They make me happy, and eager to write and the creativity to flow :D.


	24. Chapter 24

Quick update, and short chapter, sorry guys D:!

But I think that the angst in this will cover for that.

I don't know why, but I felt like some moments between the characters dialouge really didn't need to be extended, so most of this is narration on my part.

I guess I'm just out of it today... :L.

Anyway, more talky at the bottom.

Read & Enjoy (:

* * *

+Save the Innocent: Reminisce+

"_I'm going to pull the plug."_

Silence; it hung in the air and rested heavily on the shoulders of the four men. The quiet beeping of the machines could be heard – thump, thump, thump – and Yugi's erratic heartbeat was sending the little one into all sorts of nervous jitters.

He was finally going to do it. Pulling the plug meant more than just releasing a life from a bunch of wires. It literally meant that whatever emotional, invisible, chains that were tied to Yugi by his stepfather, would know longer be oppressive. Even now, Yugi could feel those chains rusting away rapidly bit by bit…

Deep down in the little one's heart, Yugi knew that Death would be the only way to help Kyouske. In the state he was in know, there were no hopes of recovery, and if there were, God only knows what sort of troubles could have arose if his stepdad did manage to awaken. Most likely to be sent to jail, and in-between sessions of rehab.

However, that just didn't feel right to Yugi.

Just thinking of his stepfather's death in his hand, was sort of ironic. The little one always thought that _he _would be the one dying at the hands of his stepfather. But, as always, fate could be such a conniving little thing.

The sheer moment of satisfaction that coursed through Yugi's veins caused his stomach to go into knots. Was it really okay for him to feel this happy? After all, stepdad or not, some part of his mind was telling him that he was giving up a life, for his own happiness. Then again, Yugi mentally shook his head at the matter. Kyouske would have probably been in more pain alive, rather than dead. And that thought - freeing Kyouske from pain - sent the small chill of guilt away for a while.

No longer would the little one have to be afraid. Afraid to go back to a house – that was legally his, even though he wasn't of age yet – and wonder if the moment he stepped through the door, would he ever be graced by the tender glow of light again?

No longer would he be held by in the arms of a man, where nothing was involved but lust and revenge.

Finally, Yugi could say he was freed…

Amethyst eyes scanned the hallway, moving from body to body, until they landed on Eiji's quiet form. A wave of sadness washed over him when he spotted a few specks of grief in those dark, brown eyes. Here he was, literally rejoicing over the fact that his stepfather would no longer be an intimidating shadow in his heart, while Eiji was probably trying to deal with losing a best friend.

The next few chills of guilt hit Yugi hard.

"Eiji…" Kio was right by the sullen man's side in mere seconds. A gentle arm was wrapped around Eiji's shoulders, and the normally defensive man instantly leaned ino the comforting, and much needed hug, without even thinking twice about it.

Yugi was a little startled, to say the least. He always thought Eiji was the sort of man to never openly display affections, or signs of a want, or a need for comfort, but he said nothing of it. His father would know what to do. And if Eiji was comfortable enough around Kio to let his guard down, Yugi knew the man was in good hands, and would hopefully be okay through all of this.

The little one turned to his love – the one who's lap he was currently planted right on – and smiled through the few crystal-like tears that streaked his face. He wished the tears would stop, but the more he smiled at Yami's kind eyes, the more the tears kept falling. He was just feeling so many emotions! The love from Yugi. The sadness of letting his stepfather go. The guilt of taking away a best friend. They were just so much for the little one to handle all at once.

Yami whispered sweet nothings into the little one's ears. Praising him, lifting up his aibou's spirits, and repeating those three, sacred words he knew Yugi loved to hear. Then, he brought Yugi into his chest and let out a sigh of happiness as his aibou snuggled into his body with conviction. Yami's fingers snaked through Yugi's hair, while he placed soft lips a top of the places he stroked. Alll the while giving Yugi the comfort he so heavily needed.

More silence followed…

Breaths intermingled with one another. Thoughts raced and danced at lightning speeds. And hearts were hammering inside, wishing to be released from their bony cages. It was like an orchestra, where the very different instruments were slowly building up to a dramatic climax...

"I think…" Yugi finally spoke, breaking the silence, and the orchestra, with his words. "That Eiji and I should go see Kyouske before I…" had his voice cracked? Trying to recollect himself, Yugi sat up a little bit straighter, while his tiny fingers desperately seeking comfort with Yami's own tanned appendages. "Before I pull the plug."

Yami nodded slowly in understanding. "Alright. Would you like me to come with you?"

Yugi shook his head, and placed a sweet kiss on Yami's cheek. "Thank you, but I need a heart to heart with Kyouske, by myself." Yami nodded and gently intertwined their fingers, signaling that his little one still had his support, even though he wouldn't physically be there with him. The little one turned to Eiji. "And so does Eiji."

"What?" Eiji looked up from his spot with Kio. Not only was he trying to fight off his emotions that were slowly bubbling just by having the younger man's hands on his shoulder, he was somewhat taking aback by how Yugi had so easily suggested him coming along to see Kyouske's last few minutes as a vegetable. When in the world had he gotten so close to these people that he was openly accepting comfort? That was the one thing Eiji tried to shy away from for _years_. Not only that, but now the little brat was being so familiar to him, it nearly sent his cold heart into spasming beats.

Yugi smiled softly, holding back the urge to laugh at Eiji's comical reaction. The man was visibly shaking from nervousness, probably surprised at how comfortable everyone was with him - especially his dad, who was trying his best to get Eiji to calm down. Only to have his hand swatted away and colorful words to be thrown at his face. He completely understood Eiji's way of behavior, though, but he felt something nagging on his heartstrings that both of them should go and see the vegetable, and take the time to say things that were needed to be said.

Kissing Yami firmly on the lips, Yugi pulled back, before getting up and heading for Eiji. With a little nod towards his father, he gently asked for Eiji's hand, and pulled the still shocked men through the door leading to Kyouske's room.

Eiji looked back towards Kio - for what, he didn't know - but that damned smile, and those gentle eyes, were enough to send some surge of courage flowing through him as he and Yugi entered into Kyouske's room.

What they saw in there, nearly took their breath away - and not because of something beautiful.

The sight of the man nearly brought reluctant tears to Eiji's eyes. The tears he had been trying to hold back for so long…

Kyouske's skin was sickly pale, and the light flickering above them didn't help at all. There were dark purple bags under his eyes, and if you'd look close enough, you could see thin, purple veins along the sides of Kyouske's cheeks. His body looked so helpless, so frail, that even though he wanted to hold his best friend's hand – and yell at him over something stupid – he was afraid of the fact that he could so easily break him…

Yugi, however, was more amazed by the toll this was taking on his stepfather's body. He always thought his father was pale, but now, with the help of the hospital lights, his father looked like a ghost in comparison to what he looked like before. Yugi was having a hard time seperating Kyouske's pale body from the white sheets he was lying on.

Neither one said anything for a while, too caught up in their own thoughts, but Eiji thought he should make the first move before things got overly emotional, and stood by the side of Kyouske's bed.

His face was blank, attempting to place on a cold, stone mask of indifference. However, he was failing miserably once his eyes gave one finally look over at the lifelessly body. His mask was breaking, cracking, and as the reluctant and silent tears fell from his face, Eiji let out every bit of emotion he was holding back for years at the man.

He couldn't stand it! How could someone like Kyouske, who had such a promising future at the time, let everything go to alcohol! But Eiji quickly bit back his tongue in an apology because he still felt like it was his fault for everything that happened up until now.

This went on for a while, and the whole time Yugi stood silently near the wall, wishing he could walk up and give Eiji a hug, but now was not the time. It wasnt's his place. Instead, he nervously fiddled with his thumbs, his heart going out to both of them as Eiji really tore down Kyouske, piece by fragile piece, before mumbling apologies, only to break out into more tears, and finally turning back towards rage.

The yelling last for what seemed forever, when in reality it was only a few minutes. Eiji's vocal chords felt hoarse and weak, and he was desperately aching for the comfort that only that infuriating brat's father could give him.

Quickly placing a mask on his face - embarrassed that he showed such a weakness in front of a kid - Eiji hurriedly stepped out of the way, and attempted to make it out the door without having to bump into Yugi – or any awkward conversation following his outburst – but as brown eyes met with amethyst, Eiji stopped dead in his tracks.

"I'm sorry…" Yugi muttered, giving Eiji a quick and awkward hug.

"For what?" Eiji wanted to glare at the kid, for even allowing the thought of a hug cross his mind, but when he peered deeper into those bright eyes of Yugi's, the silent words '_You know'_ danced in his mind.

Scowling, Eiji scratched the back of his head almost nervously, as he headed out of the room and pretty much into Kio's arms the minute he was out, leaving Yugi alone to his own devices.

Sighing – pretty much expecting that from Eiji – Yugi pulled up a chair lying around and sat near Kyouske's bed. He wanted to hold onto this man's hand, but he couldn't bring himself to it. Instead, he clasped his hands across his lap and casted his gaze towards the floor.

Everything he had thought to say while Eiji released his frustrations immediately flew out the window when Yugi caught sight of Kyouske's 'deadly' look. An involuntarily gulp slid down Yugi's throat while he eagerly shook away his nervousness.

'But where do I start?' Yugi bit onto his lower lip, silently begging for some sarcastic answer from Daisuke like: **At the beginning, kid. **But, when he didn't get anything except for deafening silence, Yugi released a sigh before he clutched onto the white bed sheets.

"Kyouske," the word didn't feel right coming from his lips. Yugi thought he should call him Dad or Father, but none of those felt right to him. The words he wanted to address him as, but couldn't, stay safely locked in the back of his throat.

"It's sad seeing you like this. The wires must be such a pain. _You _must be in so much pain right now." Yugi's grip on the sheets slowly got tighter. "Kyouske, you may be all there, you might not be, but… you are my stepdad, and I'm always going to love you… even after what you've put me through." The little one let out a shaky sigh. He knew this was the right thing to do, forgive his father and let him free, but sometimes it was just so hard to do the right thing…

"I'm going to pull the plug, Kyouske. And I hope that, wherever you're going, you'll start afresh... and finally have the life that was taken away from you by alcohol." Yugi silently prayed to God, hoping that he would at least give him a safe journey, before getting up and giving one last look towards his unconscious stepdad.

"Goodbye."

+Save the Innocent: We can always forgive, but we'll never forget+

Anzu sat, arms crossed, face set in a scowl, with her back to the cold, hard wall of the prison cell he was forced into after her arrest. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she refused to throw up again, not after having to go through it the first time.

She barely ate, but whatever contents she had from last night were quickly shot forward, burning her throat as tears formed at her eyes. It didn't really help much that the bathroom wasn't the cleanest establishment in the world. So now, sitting against the wall, her bright blue eyes dulled with rage and hatred.

'I shouldn't be here!' she thought, her teeth biting hard onto her lip and drawing blood. 'That little freak should be rotting in here for all the shit he put me through!'

The mind of a truly insane person was indeed quite scary, to say the least. For the past three months or so, the brunette had been patiently waiting out the days until her unfair trial began. She already knew there was no way out for her. The cops found all the evidence pointing towards her, and no matter what she would say in court, that little freak would have Seto Kaiba by her side – and we all knew how influential the tall, CEO, could be.

The juries and judge's opinions would easily be swayed, and she'd easily be sentenced to a lifetime in prison.

This though, didn't really set her off. However, the fact that she was going in their alone, without her bastard of an accomplice, Duke, by her side was enough to through Anzu into fits of anger.

'Why the hell is it me in here? Duke had just about as much input into this as I did! He should at least have the fucking decency to sulk in jail with me.'

Ah, but Duke was not the one to drug, than rape someone, now was he?

Once again, the mind of an insane person was truly horrifying and confusing, was it not?

"Hey, babe, you're looking sexy today." Speak of the devil, and he surely does appear. Duke, in all his bastard glory, leaned against the cell's bars with a devilish grin on his face as the man played with his dice earrings.

Anzu nearly scoffed, tilting her heads upwards in a snotty way. "Fuck you. No one looks sexy in stripes."

"Bitchy attitudes don't fair well, either." Duke retorted, easily blowing off Anzu's stick-up-the-ass attitude.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Anzu's cold glare could have cut through steel. But, Duke's green eyes were ten times colder, piercing right back at the rude girl in front of him.

"What I mean, babe, is that you're almighty attitude is going to get you screwed in prison." The green-eyed boy smirked at the happy little finger Anzu showed him, before she growled and turned the other way. Now, fun and games were over, because Duke truly did have some business with the girl, after all.

"Why are you even here if you're not going to bail me out?" of course, the brunette was highly curious as to why Duke would come here – rather than to just spite her over her incompetence – but some strange little voice was telling her that the reason why Duke was here was because he was finally going to take her away from here.

It did pay very well to be the son of the jail warden.

"It's over," Duke replied calmly, playing with the ends of his pony tail. 'I really need to get this thing trimmed…' the teen thought mindlessly, knowing any minute now Anzu would be at the bars, clawing and screeching at him for saying such a thing.

Instead, the girl was silent. Something that never really happened a lot while the green-eyed man was around. Duke, being the overly curious bastard that he was, carefully leaned in to see what all the quietness was about.

"So, you're leaving me now…?"

The question was silent, but it was enough to send Duke into a standstill. It was such a shock to see the normally confident and headstrong brunette slowly breaking in front of him.

Before he could say anything though, the horrible sounds of retching brought Duke out of his thoughts, while Anzu quickly shot up and ran to the bathroom. Just hearing Anzu throw up in the nearby bathroom was enough to send Duke's own stomach into constricting knots.

Moments later, and Anzu was out of the bathroom, scowl in place – though her lips were trembling – and blue eyes rimmed with red as tears clouded her vision.

"Babe…?"

"Just get out of here, Duke!" Anzu screeched, chucking a pillow towards the bars in a failed attempt to send the bastard away. She hollered and cried; as she threw anything she could get her hands at towards the jail door.

Feeling a little bit more than uncomfortable, the green-eyed boy slowly backed away, before breaking out into an all out run for the exit. Now, Anzu was truly alone, head in her hands as she openly let sobs ripple through out her.

This was so unfair! How come it was only her experience and suffering so much pain? Her last few bits of sanity were finally falling as reality was crashing hard. How stupid could she have been, thinking that she could get her body set just right…

Thinking, scheming, and even going forward with the thought that using her gender to an advantage would ever work in winning over Yami was enough to bring out a small laugh from her chapped lips. However, just as the jail bars were slowly sliding open, and two guard walked in to escort Anzu to see her lawyer, one final – and desperate – plan slowly developed in her mind…

'I've still got the one thing that Yugi will never be able to give Yami-kun.' Smirking – holding back the urge to cackle – she was ready to talk to her lawyer about her new found discovery.

'I can still win this thing just yet.'

The mind of a truly insane person is, indeed, quite scary.

* * *

I tried using Google, but it failed for me :L. So, I'm guessing jail warden would be the right term, hence how Duke could get his father to pull strings and allow him a 'get out of jail free' card.

I rewrote this chapter three times and I was still not sastified T^T. I think I'm more excited to climb over yet ANOTHER hill I've made for myself, and sadly bring us closer to the end of STI. I was going to make this 34 chapters, and I think I can still manage that with the last few plotlines I made up for myself. If I actually stick to them, you'll all get 10 more chapters to make up for this one :D.

AND ALWAYS A SEQUAL!

OMG! ANZU! She has yet ANOTHER insane scheme :O. I wonder why she could be throwing up so much... -cough- -cough-...

My skills of perception are not so good as they used to be :L.

I don't feel like myself right now, so I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Even though I'll complain, I do think this was a decent chapter consider how I've felt the last couple of days...

Enjoy Anzu's psychotic behavior~

Till next time :3.

Next chapter will be the court trial, and Anzu's "Big" Secret is revelead.


	25. Chapter 25

**Thank you one and all for your reviews last chapter, I really appreciate it! :D.**

You know, I love you guys SO much that I decided to sit my ass down and finish this chapter TODAY instead of TOMORROW.

Happy birthday one and all.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I'm pretty sure you all will 8D.

Read and Enjoy (:

* * *

+Save the Innocent: You're Insane+

Anzu adjusted her light blue, deep v-neck, long-sleeved top until it rested right above her pierced belly button. She was three months along, so her belly was starting to develop into a nicely, sized bump. The brunette couldn't help but smile as she fitted her white skinny jeans till they hung snug on her hips.

She had no doubt in her mind that this baby was Yami's. And Anzu was determined to use the growing life inside of her as a get out of jail free card, along with a lovely Egyptian boy toy at her disposal for as long as she wished.

Indeed, the mind of someone insane was truly terrifying.

"Are you ready?" her lawyer, Ms. Rhodes, waltzed through the door, face set in stone and suit ironed until there were no signs of wrinkles at all.

"Of course," Anzu replied haughtily, placing a piece of brown hair behind her ear. "I have the upper hand here – the ultimate trump card." She spun around in the full-length mirror, before turning around and flashing an evil smile. "This court case is mine."

Walking with an air of confidence slung around her shoulder, Anzu started for the door, only to be blocked by her less-than-happy lawyer.

"What?"

'Look, let me be your daily dose of reality and tell you something: A life, no matter how small, should not be used as a playing card." Amber eyes flashed with an eerie coldness that literally sent the brunette a step backwards.

Anzu was – to say the least – a little taken back by her lawyer's tone of voice. Shouldn't she be over the moon with joy that they had such an advantage over Yami-kun? This court case was practically putty in their hands and Ms. Rhodes was acting like a total wet blanket.

Placing her hands on her hips, Anzu scowled. "What are you trying to get at?"

Ms. Rhodes held back two – very – strong urges right now. The first urge was to scoff, roll her eyes, and stamp out of the room. So what if she would loose out on a court case, and possibly get her higher-ups extremely pissed off? She'd rather stand and listen to her higher-ups nag on her by acting so rash, rather than working along side this complete disgrace to women everywhere.

It sounded harsh, but right now she was holding back on her second urge to seriously smack some sense into the brunette scowling in front of her. "I'm your lawyer, and as such I will do my best to help you out to lessen your sentence. But, I will not approve of you using your unborn child as means to sway the judge's decision."

Ms. Rhodes walked up until she was face to face with the cocky teen. "Reality's a bitch, honey, I just hope you get the wake up call." After finding some pleasure in the shocked look on Anzu's face, Ms. Rhodes headed for the door.

Before she left though, she threw one last smile over her shoulder. "What are you standing around for? Didn't you say we had a court case to win?"

Sarcasm slapped Anzu hard.

+Save the Innocent+

"Yami, you're tie's on wrong." Yugi giggled as he tried to adjust Yami's tie, all the while listening to the taller one grumbling on how ties were a waste of good fabric. "Quit squirming, Yami!" he scolded, slapping Yami playfully on the shoulder.

"But you know I hate wearing these infernal things." The crimson-eyed teen groaned, smirking at the pout he got out of Yugi. Oh how he loved to rile up his lover. Because he just looked so cute with cheeks stained in a pink blush.

"I don't care." Yugi deadpanned, barely paying any mind to Yami's childishness. His whole focus was set on trying to tie this damn tie! "There, done," he stepped back to admire his work with a smile, and then frowned when he saw Yami loosen it again.

"What?" Yami asked innocently, turning his attention to the mirror. He had to admit, the tie looked much better loosened then when it was choking him with a death grip. The blood, red tie stood out quite nicely in his all black suit – courtesy of Seto Kaiba.

"You're hopeless." Yugi shook his head, a smile teasing the corner of his lips, as he walked up behind his love and wrapped his small arms around Yami's slender waist.

His outfit was pretty much the same as Yami's, the only difference being that Yugi's tie was a rich purple. In the little one's opinion, his outfit looked more like a monkey suit, rather than something formal. While Yami's outfit made him look like the guy just walked out of a magazine.

In Yami's opinion, he'd rather have Yugi just wearing the tie.

"But you love me anyways." Yami pulled Yugi around, so that he was pushed up against the mirror, and brought him into a passionate kiss. A gentle, eager, tongue skittered across the silky, bottom lip of his Aibou; begging for entrance. Yugi happily obliged and allowed Yami's skilled tongue to explore and devour his mouth as he pleased.

When they finally broke apart, a thin trail of saliva connected their reddened lips together, and their breaths danced with each other in the same air space. Yugi's half-lidded eyes fell upon blazing crimson eyes, causing a blush to erupt against his pale cheeks.

Without much warning, Yugi buried his face into Yami's warm chest, and hugged him tightly. Yami returned the gesture, burying his face into Yugi's unmanageable hair, allowing the fresh scents of strawberry and vanilla to wash over him.

Their playfulness, their love, their lust that they just shared, were all just another way to hold back the nervousness that was fluttering through their veins. Today was finally the day; the dreaded court case had finally reared its ugly head. What would happen, they had no idea. They could only pray that things would turn out in their favor.

And that only a few tears would be shed.

After a couple of moments of comforting silence, Yugi finally pulled back to place a soft kiss on Yami's lips. "They're waiting for us downstairs." He whispered against his lips.

"I know." Yami whispered back, treading their fingers into an unbreakable bond. "Let's go."

+Save the Innocent+

"Jou, I'm only going to say this once: Do not – I repeat – do _not _be yourself." Kaiba warned, turning the corner and entering onto the highway.

Jou merely scoffed and slunk deeper into the passenger seat. "What's that supposed to mean, Kaiba? Embarrassed by your own lover?" the last part got choked out as a joke, but once he received that serious, unreadable look from Kaiba, he felt his heart lurch in his chest.

Not only did Yami enjoy messing around with his boyfriend, Kaiba was just the same way. How could you resist such an urge to fluster someone as cute as Jou?

A few more, unbearable, seconds later and the brunette dropped his façade only to ruffle his puppy's hair lovingly. "Of course not, Puppy, it's just that I know how you can get. One single outburst could turn the tables today."

"I know that!" Jou swatted the annoying hand away from his hair, but smiled nonetheless. "Don't worry, stingy, I was well trained to not get overly excited in public unless necessary."

Kaiba, who loved sexual innuendoes to the fullest, merely smirked.

"God, you guys are sickening to be near with." Mokuba whined, finding instant comfort in his "new best friend", Eiji. Who was sitting in-between him and Kio in the middle row, with Yugi and Yami having their own, personal love seat in the back.

"Brat," Eiji scoffed, but allowed Mokuba to get close to him anyway. Surprisingly enough, Eiji had a soft side for kids – he even wanted to become a teacher or a pediatrician back in the day.

Sadly, his dreams never came into full bloom.

"Why is it that you allow Mokuba to get all nice and cozy with you, but when I try to make a move you push me off like some annoying bug?" Kio whined, trying rest his hand on top of Eiji's only to have it slapped away.

Eiji bluntly ignored the pout he was getting from the other man. "Because you're not cute at all." He emphasized his point by bringing Mokuba closer to his chest, and resting his head upon the kid's bountiful, black mane.

"What sort of reason is that?"

"A good one," Eiji calmly shrugged and started to stroke Mokuba's hair. He really did enjoy making Kio get all worked up. If you asked him upfront if he really did feel something for the flustered men only a few seats away, he'd outright lie and say no. But over the time the two have spent together, even Eiji would admit that there was something he liked about the man.

What is was, he really didn't know, but he was always stealing the occasional glance at the man's ass, so that must be leading to somewhere.

"Alright children, time to stop bickering and actually act your age." Yugi joked, happily humming away the glares he was getting from both Kio and Eiji. In all honesty, he was happy his father found some interest in someone else, regardless of gender. He always thought Kio was just going to stay single, hung up over Haruhi's death, but obviously that was quite the obvious.

'I only hope Eiji would drop his pride and just allow things to happen.' He thought, resting his head on Yami's shoulder.

The rest of the car ride was silent, albeit the soft music playing from the radio, everyone's minds were just so consumed on what was going to happen once they went through those large, double doors to the court room.

'I just hope things go smoothly.' Yugi sighed, absentmindedly threading his fingers with Yami's. 'But, with Anzu there…' he tried to let that huge bubble of anger forming in his stomach to disappear, but it was so hard to do that when, in a matter of minutes, he'd be face to face with the instigator that brought them into this mess.

"Don't worry," Yami whispered into Yugi's ear, tightening his grip on his aibou's hand, "I won't let anything happen to you. We're going to be okay."

They could only hope so.

+Save the Innocent: Overruled, bitch+

The judge went through the papers one last time, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. For once, he'd like to have _one _sane case to handle. But, oh no, he always got the crazy ones.

This one, at least, was a common one – but still all the more insane.

"Drugged, then raped, and now the woman is coming to plead her innocence." He sighed and pushed his glasses upwards till the rested in his hair. "This is going to be a long day."

"The court room is filling up, Judge Hideaki." The burly, somewhat scary looking, bailiff nodded towards the judge.

With one final sigh, the judge rested his glasses on the table and took a long sip of his water. "Let's get this over with, Ryo." He held back one final urge to groan, before he opened the door and allowed himself to become immersed in the world of Law.

In such a world, words could be twisted, bent, used, at anyone's whim. You must be sneaky, yet there always have to be some truth hiding beneath the shallow surface. For Hideaki, he had to learn the difference between a truthful victim, and a pitiful bastard. Because, in the world of Law – just about any underhanded trick would, and could, be used.

"I should have become a veterinarian instead," he mumbled just as he always did when he was about to handle a difficult case.

People of all sizes and colors filled the room. Some spoke in hushed tones, while others were brimming with excitement – probably because this was their first sit-in court case. The jury filed in, one by one; with nervous, bored, or pissed off expressions on their faces.

And finally, the defendant and clients started to walk in. The girl – who he guessed was Anzu – wore a smug smirk on her face and wasn't afraid to show it off. Hideaki inwardly sighed, 'They're all the same.'

Then, his attention was turned on the two twins sitting at the table across from the defendant. 'And I can only guess one of them must be Yami.' His heart went out for the two, it really did. From what he could tell, the two boys were obviously very close. 'Probably brothers,' but he scratched out that thought when he caught a glimpse of their intertwined hands. 'Or maybe not,'

The last few crowds of people started to swarm in, but the voices seemed to only grow louder in Hideaki's ears. He just wanted this case to be over and done with, but sadly, he knew in reality things were going to be one hell of a pain to handle.

Sighing, Hideaki grabbed his gavel and pounded it a few times against the table.

"Order in the court!"

+Save the Innocent: Orange or Stripes?+

"Now then, Ms. Yuki was it?" the maid who found the incriminating evidence in the first place nodded timidly from where she sat. Ms. Rhodes nodded silently before pacing once again. "You said you found some strange substance in the cup Mr. Atemu drank before the incident, correct?"

"Hai," she replied with another nod.

"And do you have any idea what that substance was?"

"No, b-but," she swallowed nervously, "I had my suspicions that it was laced with some sort of odorless drug. That's why no one was able to detect it earlier."

"I see." Ms. Rhodes nodded silently while her foot tapped lazily on the ground. Things were going smoothly so far, even though some part of her wished the judge would just pound his gavel and claim Anzu guilty. Every single piece of evidence that was brought out so far pointed towards the use of illegal drugs. Not only that, but possible rape as well from what she read earlier to the case.

Yet Anzu still smirked like her little secret would turn things around. Which, it very well could, but Ms. Rhodes knew this judge was a no bullshit type of person, so she couldn't say what Anzu's verdict would be would make her any happier.

"Are you sure, Ms. Yuki, that the powder-like substance you found in Mr. Atemu's drink wasn't just some broken teabag residue?"

"Positive," she nodded once more. "The teabag we used had black tea inside. What we found in the drink was white, and it kind of made the tea get all filmy at the top."

Ms. Rhodes casted a sideways glance at the nonchalant girl behind her and inwardly growled. Did this girl seriously not understand what sort of situation she placed herself in?

'Deep breaths, Rhodes, just take deep breaths.' A few seconds later and she dismissed the witness from the stand, hearing everything she already needed to know.

"Is that all, Ms. Rhodes?" Judge Hideaki asked – with a faint tint of boredom laced in his words – as he peered down towards the frustrated lawyer before him.

Good, so he wasn't the only one finding this case a waste of time, also.

"Not yet, your honor, I still have one more person to call up." Ms. Rhodes turns toward the smaller one of the two boys over on the left side, "Yugi Motou, I'd like to call you up to the stand, if you will."

Yugi froze suddenly, unsure of what to do. He knew sooner or later he'd be call up to the stand, but he didn't think it would be know! Yes, he wanted to see Anzu put away for what she did, but he didn't want to recall the pain-striking things that happened only a few months ago.

_Daisuke, I would love to have your help right now. _

Yugi was only greeted with silence.

Sighing – really, did he expect any more from the now-silent personality? – Yugi shared one, reassuring glance with Yami before heading up for the stand.

"Now tell me, Mr. Motou, what exactly did you see the day the incident occurred?"

Yugi started to tremble slightly, biting onto his lower lip until he was sure there was some blood being drawn. Ms. Rhodes was taken back slightly, not really expecting that sort of reaction at all. Then – although the dots were faint – she started to piece together in her mind the situation here that she was never fully told.

'She didn't just rape the kid… she tried to break apart a relationship using the dirtiest means possible.' Now she _really _wanted to just walk out on this court case, but no good would come out of it until she saw Anzu heading off to jail with a shiny new pair of handcuffs.

Smiling softly, Ms. Rhodes walked up and placed a warm hand on Yugi's own trembling one. "I know this is going to be hard," she whispered, "but you want things to turn out in your favor right?" Yugi merely nodded. "So please, bear with me and try to recall what happened. The more evidence we have, the better."

The amethyst eyed boy looked up, tears glistening on either side of his eyes. Why in the world could Anzu's lawyer be on there side? That didn't make any sense at all? But, as amethyst connected with amber, Yugi felt a strange sense of safety and comfort with this woman, and nodded slowly to her small words of comfort.

So, Yugi told his story, and the whole room was captivated. The small cracks would appear here and there in his voice, but overall the room was silenced by the raw emotion the little teen must have suffered from that experience, that was finally all coming out now.

Kio instantly grabbed for Eiji's hand, and the latter merely let it go once he realized Kio was holding back tears of his own.

Jou had to be held back by Kaiba unless that v-neck shirt would be ripped to a million blue shreds, along with the rest of Anzu's body.

Yami wanted to go back in time, and wipe away that horrible stain in his memory. He wished it never happened, that he and Yugi had gotten to hung out like they originally planned. But he knew he couldn't fix what was already broken. All he could do was comfort Yugi now from whatever pain that was still tormenting his heart.

And Mokuba tried his best not to doze off in the middle of all this.

"Thank you, Mr. Motou, you may return to your table now." Yugi nodded, exchanging small smiles with Ms. Rhodes before returning to his seat.

"Is that all, Ms. Rhodes?" Judge Hideaki repeated his question.

"Yes, your honor, that is all."

"Good," Hideaki adjusted himself in his seat before raising his gavel and striking it against the podium three times. "We'll be taking a recess, now. When we return, it will be the client's turn to ask any questions, before we wrap this all up." He rose up from his seat, "Dismissed."

Everyone filed out one by one. Yugi and Yami stayed behind, waiting for the familiar and comforting faces of their friends and familiar to appear before they exited the courtroom and stood outside.

Mokuba was getting hungry – thus, getting irritable – so Eiji offered to take the little brat with him. Of course, Kio also had to join on this little adventure. With a big old grin, he dragged Eiji and Mokuba out for some food.

The remaining four stood in a little corner, voices hushed from the pressure, stress, and over all intensity they had just walked out on.

No one really wanted to say anything. Instead, they simply basked in the presence that everyone was in until Mokuba, Eiji and Kio arrived with a little bite to eat. They quickly gobbled it down, before the bailiff came out and told everyone court would be in session in two minutes.

The group started to go back, merging with the crowd, with Yugi and Yami straggling in the back. The two were in their own world, trying to piece back whatever sort of stability the other one might have lost.

They were barely through the door when the annoying, and snide, voice cut through the air.

"It's nice to see you again, Yami-kun."

Yami said nothing, keeping his eyes locked in front of him, while he dragged Yugi with him into the room. Anzu was miffed, to say the least, but she let that wave of emotion wash over her as she patted her stomach.

She needn't worry, since her free ticket out of here was sitting comfortably in her belly.

+Save the Innocent: You're Truly Insane+

"So, Ms. Mazaki, tell me, why are you so calm right now?" the lawyer Kaiba had hired was currently leaning against the stand, peering into cocky, blue eyes. "You do understand that this case isn't in your favor at all, right?"

Anzu merely scoffed. "Like I said earlier, I was in no means, using drugs, or even distributing them in the first place. Hence, I have nothing to be guilty of."

"But all evidence points towards _you_, Ms. Mazaki."

"Did anyone _say _they saw me put whatever the hell was in Yami-kun's drink?" she leaned back in her chair. "No, I don't think they did."

"Actually, I beg to differ." The lawyer started to pace, "As stated earlier, Mr. Motou walked in on you and Mr. Atemu doing adult-relating things. And, as questioned earlier, Mr. Atemu stated that he had no recollection of what happened between the times Mr. Motou entered the room, and the time he was found by Mr. Kaiba, and Mr. Wheeler."

He kept on pacing, "Furthermore, Mr. Atemu clearly stated that before his memory became frazzled; he drank something strange that was served by _you_,Ms. Mazaki. Now you tell me, who in the world would have any better opportunity than you to insert anything suspicious into the drink?"

Anzu stayed silent. Mostly because this lawyer was a pretty damn good one, along with the fact that anything she said would just be thrown back at her with carefully calculated words and a cool gaze. So she merely kept her gaze concentrated on a nearby wall.

Score one for the lawyer.

"Is that all?"

"Yes, your honor, I am done questioning. Ms. Mazaki, you may now leave the stand."

Anzu gratefully walked off and sat next to her stoic lawyer.

"Well then," Judge Hideaki pinched the bridge of his nose, inwardly praising that this long court case was finally being drawn to a close. "Now that we've got questioning out of the way, has the jury reached a verdict?"

The representative for the jury stood up and read from the paper in his hands. "We have, your honor, and we've deemed the defendant, Anzu Mazaki, guilty of illegal uses of drugs, and rape."

"Overruled!" Anzu sat up, completely radiating anger as her chair topple over.

"Ms. Mazaki, please sit down. Only I have the right to overrule someone." Judge Hideaki was getting more or less impatient with all of this, but he knew what was coming next when Anzu's hands instantly fell on her stomach.

"But you can't find me guilty! It isn't fair!"

"Oh really?" Hideaki raised an eyebrow, and nearly smirked. 'Might as well let her humor me,' He thought. "And why on earth can't I?"

"Because I'm pregnant with Yami-kun's child," she stated smugly, casting a smirk towards Yugi's way.

Yami's blood ran cold. Time stood still. And the feeling of dizziness swept over him like a tidal wave. The Egyptian felt faint. If it weren't for the constant pressure of Yugi's hand, and the loving, comforting, words from his aibou – he would have surely keeled over.

"Is that so…?" Hideaki let his voice trail off. Loving how easily he could build up this girl's confidence, than smash it to the ground with a smack of his gavel. He allowed his words to hang in the air, before finally clearing his throat and smiling. "If you don't mind, could you please stand here for a moment." He pointed to where he was talking about.

Anzu happily stood in the spot directed for her. She was jumping over the moon right about now. There was absolutely no way this judge would send her to jail now that he knew she was caring life inside of her.

It was all just too easy…

"How old are you, Ms. Mazaki?"

"Seventeen, your honor."

"And you don't mind being pregnant?"

"Why would I mind? Isn't it such a wonderful gift to carry a child within you?"

"I never said it wasn't. It's just that a girl your age should be more concerned about school, rather than whose life can you destroy next."

"E-Excuse me?" her voice faltered as she took one step backwards.

"Listen, in all my years as a judge, how many times do you think I've heard stories like yours come here before?" when he was answered by silence, he simply continued. "It's all the same to me, now. Whether your nine months along, or three months, you'll still be getting the same sentence from me."

He leaned in closer, allowing a carefree smile to sit on his face. "I really don't appreciate you using an innocent child as means to weasel your way out of your mistakes. Also, I'll bet my money on it that you've had a boyfriend – who wasn't Yami – prior to all of this, and haven't even taken a paternity test before stepping into these doors because you were so confident that you'd walk out of here jail free."

"Well, I'm not sorry to say that you've lost out on this one." Fear finally settled in over Anzu, as her body suddenly started to shake, before she fell into a helpless heap on the floor.

Hideaki merely shrugged it off and smacked his gavel a few times. "I sentence Anzu Mazaki to thirty years in prison, and nine months of Pregnancy counseling until the baby is born. During this time, we will send in someone to take a paternity test, and if the baby truly is Mr. Atemu's, we will settle the arrangements when the time comes."

"Court dismissed," Hideaki threw his gavel away, smiling to himself at the rounding applauds he got from the crowd behind him.

Sure, being a judge was a tough job, but it sure did pay off to see someone get what they rightly deserved.

* * *

EAT IT, ANZU! YOUR SORRY ASS IS GOING TO JAIL! MWAHAHAH!

But hmmm... who in the world could the baby's father be? 8D I wonder...

Anyway, this took me like 3483328 hours (I kid, probably three at most) to finish what I started last night. Thank God for music (:

Next chapter, I feel like I should give you all a Lemon in celebration of Anzu's Incaration. So yeah, let's give it up for some Yugi and Yami sex! And maybe even moooore~.

Before I leave you all, I've made a mediaminer account. You can go on my profilie for the link. Basically, I'll be posting the first chapters of fanfics I currently have working in progress. But ONLY the first chapter. If people like it enough, I'll work on getting those fanfics up on this site for the whole shabang to see :3.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to edit and work with the chapters on that thing... :/

Help?

Till Next Time. I hope you all enjoyed chapter 25!


	26. Chapter 26

**WARNING! Explicit Yaoi, people :D. If you love it, then be free and read along! If you don't like it well.. you CAN skip over it, but you really don't want do that, do you? ;).**

**Thank you one and all who've reviewed! I love you so much D: -hugs and gives you pwetty flowers-.**

Okay, so you know how I've told you guys this story is going to have 34 chapters? You do :O! GREAT! Well, sorry to burst your bubbles but I lied. -hides behind a rock - I checked my plot lines - just to make sure I didn't stray from the path o.o - and realized that I actually had 30 chapters for STI. Well, to fix that, I added two MORE chapters for you. So now it's 32 chapters for STI, and only 6 more left till the end...

-Sniffles- I'm going to miss this fanfic uberly D:.

Now then, special thanks to these bands on my iPod that helped push me through this chapter: Paramore, Alesana, Mayday Parade, FTSK, Silverstien, I See Stars, Brokencyde, Far East Movement AND Starfield.

And special thanks to all those yaoi mangas I've read to help me out with the lemon scene 8D! Bahaha...ha... :L.

Read and Enjoy my lovelies ;D.

* * *

+Save the Innocent: It's a Lemon+

"We won…" Yugi stood there, hand intertwined with Yami's, in a sea of people talking animatedly – and some even cheering. The noise did nothing but pump up the excitement swimming through out his body. He felt so happy he could have fainted on the spot if it weren't for Yami being his pillar of support.

Finally, Anzu would be gone from their lives, and hopefully they could move on…

But then there came the unborn child. The little one prayed that the baby wasn't Yami's, as selfish and mean as it seemed, but he would probably never be able to live with that constant reminder of what happened oh-so-long ago.

Before Yugi could voice his thoughts to Yami, an over-exuberant blonde bounded forward and attached itself to Yugi's shoulder, sending them both to the ground in a heap of giggles and awkward laughter.

"We won, Yug! This is fucking amazing!" Jou grinned insanely, picking the smaller teen up and twirling him around before grabbing him in a bone crushing hug.

"Puppy," Kaiba warned and instantly Jou put Yugi down, "you did nothing but sit there the entire time, yet you act like you were just shipped to Iraq and survived."

"Pfft," Jou nearly scoffed and folded his arms, "sitting there was still pretty intense. Do you know how many times I had to pee, but held it in, Kaiba?" Jou raised a questioning eyebrow at the brunette's emotionless face before huffing, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Yugi just laughed off Kaiba and Jou's normal banter and steadied himself into Yami's arms. They felt so good wrapped around his waist. And those tiny fingers lazily drumming against his sides sent waves of shivers throughout his body.

"Can I twirl you around, next?" Yami's low chuckle traveled through every spot in Yugi's body, causing a whole rush of heat to erupt in more places Yugi wouldn't like to admit.

"No thank you. Anymore twirling and I'll be having a second helping of breakfast."

Yami whined, but got over his disappointment quickly enough to place a tender kiss on Yugi's forehead. "Can I twirl you tonight though?"

The Egyptian's words were tinted with a sweet scent of sexual innuendoes. Yugi's face went from pale, to as red as a cherry at all the hidden meanings Yami could have meant for that phrase. Pouting, he playfully punched the taller on the arm a few times until rightfully satisfied.

"Yugi!" Kio exclaimed, bursting with the same amount of energy and happiness as everyone else. He grabbed Yugi by the arms and pulled him into a tight embrace, his face instantly burying itself into spiky, tri-colored locks. For Kio, this was just one more thing out of Yugi's life that would cause his son any trouble. Finally, his son could be at peace, and hopefully move on to a happier, carefree, life.

"Dad, you're hugging me a little too tightly." As much as Yugi tried to protest and wriggle free from his over-ecstatic father's grasp, he couldn't help but smile softly, as a rosy pink blush dusted his cheeks, at how much his life had change in almost a year.

Starting out with a life only filled with disappointments and pain. Slowly turning into a life where there really such a thing as to love, and to be loved. And finally transforming into the world where he didn't have to fear for his life – his innocence – or wonder if he could fully put his trust into someone. He now had someone that was precious to him, and valued him like a priceless jewel that could never be replaced.

Yugi had friends, who he knew would go to Hell and back for him, just to see him smile. And he finally had the family he dreamed of having – the father he wished to have, and the grandfather who he always wanted to return to him.

Grinning sheepishly, Kio pushed Yugi back until he was at arm's length, before ruffling his unruly spiky hair until the little teen actually made the effort to bite at his hand. "I can't help myself when I get so excited! You know your grandpa's gonna want to hear all about this since he couldn't make it, today." his voice was full of laughter. "This definitely calls for a celebration, don't you think?"

"I like where you're going with this, Kio!" Jou happily threw in his own two cents. The two of them together were like putting fireworks in the hands of a child. Basically speaking, both Kio and Jou were an unpredictable duo when hyped up.

"Oh God…" Kaiba groaned, looking towards someone sane in hopes of an escape route, he was only met with eager, gleaming eyes and one stoic Eiji. Sadly, no amount of smooth talking and business tactics would sway Eiji to his side.

"That sounds fun!" Mokuba bounced on the balls of his feet. "We gotta play a game, though!"

"Oh?" Kio quirked an eyebrow in amusement, his purple eyes dancing with joy, "What did you have in mind, Mokie?"

Mokie inwardly pouted at the godforsaken nickname Kio decided to dote on him. 'I'll kill Yami for ever starting that ridiculous name!' A few seconds later, and his pout was instantly replaced with a devious smile. "It's a game that'll really help us unwind. Or for some, you might just get tangled up in one, big, mess."

"Mokuba, I swear, if you're referring to what I think you are -,"

Kaiba was instantly shushed by his younger brother, who feigned annoyance at almost being interrupted. "Ah, ah, ah, Onii-chan," Mokuba wagged a warning finger towards his scowling brother, "Interrupting is rude, and you know better. Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted, we should totally play Twister tonight! It'll be such a laugh, and so much fun, too."

"Mokie, you do realize that playing Twister could lead to… 'other' things… right?" Jou, always the one to be blunt, raised a skeptical eyebrow towards the smirking lion cub. That smirk he got from Mokuba was enough to dissolve any and all assumptions he had about the little lion's innocence.

Obviously, Kaiba and him getting it on only a few doors down from Mokuba's room really did have its after effects.

"That's why me, Eiji, and Kio, will be watching a movie on the couch, eyes safely avoided from whatever's happening on the mat."

"Oi, Brat, what the hell makes you think I want to be a part of all this?" although Eiji bit out the words with every bit of snarky attitude he had, he – would never admit this aloud – was quite surprised, actually, at how everyone just _expected_ him to be there with them, now.

"It just seems natural for you to be there with us, Eiji." Mokuba nonchalantly shrugged, even though Eiji didn't miss the devilish gleam in his eyes.

'What the fuck is that brat planning…?'

"Oh c'mon, Eiji, tonight just won't be the same if you don't join us." Kio wrapped an arm around Eiji's waist in an intimate gesture, and brought him close against his body. Normally, Eiji would have handed it to Kio for even allowing the thought of touching him to pass his mind, but, there was something different about this man that Eiji couldn't place.

A weird feeling of… _something_ he couldn't situate was pooling in the pit of his stomach. For now, he'd just ignore it and snap at Kio for being an idiot.

One by one, people started to file out of the courtroom. Anzu was no where to be seen, so everyone pushed her aside, coming to the conclusion that the bailiff had taken her away. Their group straggled in the back, all jittery and antsy, talking, laughing, and overall happy about tonight.

Yami, however, was a little bit concerned on why Mokuba had chosen such a game to begin with. Not that he minded having his body tangled up against Yugi's, but Mokuba must have _some _idea of where things could lead to, right?

Squeezing Yugi's hand in silent form of telling him: "I'll be right back", Yami quickly swung to the back where Mokuba was happily humming to himself. His curiosity had now shot through the roof at the little lion's blasé ways.

"Mokie… why are you so happy?" yes, Yami could be brutally blunt when needed.

"I'm living up my childhood, Yami~" Mokuba grinned madly, still not really letting on anything.

"… I see that look in your eyes, Mokie. What are you planning?"

"Absolutely nothing whatsoever, Yami."

"You're such a liar, Mokuba." Yami stopped right in front of the little teen, hands on his hips and a mask set nicely on his face. He wasn't about to let Mokuba out of his sights while being kept in the dark about the little demon's plans. "Now tell me what do you have planned for tonight? Why did you decide to pick a game like Twister? You do know where things could lead to… right?"

"You ask way too many questions," Mokuba picked some imaginary dirt out of his ears.

"Mokuba!"

"Alright, alright, so maybe I have some… hidden agendas, for tonight."

"Some?"

"Alright, I have a lot of hidden agendas for tonight."

Yami quirked an eyebrow, "Care on sharing those agendas with me?"

Mokuba grinned like a conniving cat, before motioning Yami closer so that he could whisper in his ear. "Nope, not at all." He laughed at the, not-so-happy, glare he was on the receiving end with, and ran away before any damage could have been dealt.

"I don't know if I should be scared… or highly intrigued." Yami groaned, but he felt a swarm of butterflies rampaged in his stomach when his aibou connected their arms together.

"Maybe you should be both." Yugi cracked a smirk – one that Yami has only seen once or twice before.

"Maybe you shouldn't be an eavesdropper." Yami laughed at Yugi trying to act like he was actually offended, sporting an adorable pout, and ruffled his aibou's here. "Come on, Aibou; let's hurry up before Kaiba kicks my ass for being later."

+Save the Innocent: Mokuba's Twisted+

"Left hand on green!"

"But Kio's ass is on green!"

"I don't care~ Put your left hand on green, or say hello to your new little friend."

"There is no way in Hell I'm going to wear that ridiculous outfit!"

"Then put your freaking hand on green, already!"

Eiji held back every curse word he had ever acquired among the years. After this game was said and down, he was going to think of the most excruciating punishment for the smirking devil on the couch, and laugh when he had Mokuba begging for mercy.

Swallowing down his pride, his hand slowly started to make its way to the dreaded green dot – the same dot Kio's ass was comfortably plopped on.

"Don't take this the wrong way," he growled lowly, his hand sliding underneath Kio's light-washed jeans until they rested on the green dot.

Kio, to say the least, was feeling slightly turned on at the feeling of Eiji's hand _right _underneath him. It was something he had always daydreamed about, how it would feel to be lovers with Eiji. To touch, to feel, to taste one another, but he never thought the day would come when Eiji's hand was touching his butt!

Even though it wasn't out of lust or want, but out of the mere fact Eiji had to play along to Mokuba's tune.

'Oh well… it's better than nothing.' Kio thought, holding back the urge to move his butt just right so he could get of a feel from the hand beneath him.

Mokuba wagged a finger, "Eiji, you have to _cup _Kio's butt for it to count."

"WHAT?" Eiji and Kio both had faces flushed in crimson red. Yami and Yugi, who were on the other side of the twister mat, merely shook their heads and hoped for the best for the two wherever this game would leave them. Kaiba and Jou on the other hand… well, they were doing things behind the couch, at the moment.

The two barely lasted two minutes in the game before their animal instincts kicked in, and shirts started to get ripped off. All in all, they forfeited.

"Either cup Kio's butt, or wear the outfit, Eiji!"

"I take back ever calling you cute, Brat!" Eiji growled, but turned his hand around anyways so that it was cupping Kio's butt. Somehow, the obvious motion sent electric shivers up both men's spines. It was so simple to give that round cushion a little squeeze…

'I wonder what his reaction would be…' before the smaller man could stop himself, his fingers were already adding pressure to a delectably round butt cheek.

Kio gasped, nearly bucking his hips up at the faint pleasure that buzzed through his veins from the touch. A few years ago, he would never _think_ about the possibility of being gay, since his love was always with Haruhi. Not that he didn't love her any less now, but he knew she would want him to move on, whether his heart would belong to another woman, or possibly a man.

There was something in the way Eiji held himself. The air around him screamed to not bother him, to leave him the hell alone. But, Kio could see right through that defensive wall of cockiness, and found out there was an actual person behind those walls. A person with feelings, a heart… a person waiting to be loved…

'And maybe that person could be me…'

"Good job, Eiji." Mokuba grinned from ear to ear. His plan was going quite smoothly, if he did say so himself. "Alright, now Kio, put your left hand on Eiji's crotch."

"You didn't even spin the spinner, Mokuba!" Kio gasped again when he felt that wonderful pressure on his rounded cheek. His eyes glazed over, as his head turned to look at Eiji's own lustful expression. He swallowed thickly, trying to read Eiji's gaze, and vice versa.

By now, both men couldn't give a flying fuck whether this was right or wrong. All that really matter was that fate placed an opportunity at the door, and they better answer it quickly before they wasted their chance.

Hesitantly, Kio reached his hand and placed it on the soft fabric of Eiji's jeans. Their eyes never broke their silent connection, as Kio firmly added pressure on the touch. The brunette bucked his hips at the touch, the mere action sending spikes of pleasure through out his body. Kio's eyes dropped to where his hand was slowly kneading Eiji's crotch, wondering how far he could go without pushing his boundaries.

Mokuba, feeling he had to be the leap of faith for both men, casually kicked the back of Eiji's shin, causing the man to tumble over and land nicely on top of Kio.

'I think I gave them the right push,' and the devilish grin returns once more.

Kio and Eiji's eyes locked, sharing so many words, so many feelings, with just one expression. Before either one could stop themselves, their lips connected in an intense kiss. Kio's tongue begged for entrance, trailing back and forth against Eiji's bottom lip. Eiji opened his mouth, and allowed it to be explored by the curious, wet appendage ravishing his mouth.

Both men moaned at the sudden attraction when both tongues touched. Kio bucked his hips upwards, clothed erections rubbing each other wantonly, as lithe fingers treaded between beautiful, brown locks.

Soon enough, Kio's dominate nature kicked in, and Eiji was pinned underneath a strong and comfortable body. Their panting, hot, breaths mixed together in the little space between their faces. His brown eyes traveled along the glorious face that he always dreamed about at nights, all the way down the that mysterious body he always wondered looked like without any clothes…

Kio's mind was whirring from the buzz of pleasure. Amazed at how beautiful Eiji was up close. Hazy, green eyes that sometimes turned hazel depending on the man's mood, was brought out against the man's flushed, bronzed, skin. Eiji's lips were coated with thing sheen of saliva, and were slightly parted due to his laborious panting.

Neither one of them wanted to waste any more time, and crashed their lips together in a heated kiss. Legs tangled, hands intertwined, the men were lost in their own world of pleasure and want - carelessly leaving two awkward teens on a twister mat, and one happily grinning preteen on the couch, to watch their actions unfold.

Yugi cleared his throat nervously, a blush spreading across his pale face. "Well then… Um, Mokuba, do you mind spinning the spinner for us?"

"I don't know, Yugi, I kind of wanna watch how long those guys can kiss like that."

"Mokuba, you are truly Seto Kaiba's brother." Yami shook his head in dismay, throwing out any chances of continuing Twister out the window. With Kaiba and Jou making love like animals behind the couch, and Kio and Eiji shortly following after, Yami let his mind wander on the idea of whether or not this would be the night he and Yugi would finally connect…

'It would be nice,' he thought, his eyes trailing imaginary pathways down Yugi's body. The little teen was only wearing a pair of white, cargo shorts that clung on his hips very nice – and made his ass look incredibly delicious – and a light purple, long sleeve, t-shirt.

'I wonder if…' his thoughts were caught off though, when he felt a warm tongue silently beg for entrance. At first, he was a little caught of guard, but when crimson eyes collided into the dusky, amethyst eyes of his lover, all shock went out the door, and all instinct kicked in like a sugar rush.

Apparently, Mokuba had spun the spinner, and commanded Yugi to place his lips against Yami's. Not like the little one complained about that.

Yami weaved his arms around the small of Yugi's back, toying with the back of his aibou's shirt. Yugi's arms circled around Yami's neck and linked his fingers through Yami's soft hair.

The little's ones mind was solely focused on every little thing his lover did. Whenever he felt Yami's fingers slowly pull up his shirt, inch by inch, he would feel a strong wave of lust, pleasure, and want – all mixed together – rush through his body, and his erection to become even more cramped in his pants.

"Sit up," Yami whispered huskily against Yugi's ear, before giving the reddening flesh a gentle nip. Obliging, Yugi quickly sat up and allowed Yami to pull of his shirt, throwing it off to only God-knows-where. Yami's eyes quickly locked on the tiny scars and bruises that marred Yugi's skin.

But, instead of feeling disgusted or repulsed by the fact that his aibou showed obvious signs of being touched, he felt a certain, hotness, and love, rush through him. He would make sure to kiss ever spot that was bruised with the love from his lips. Yami would kiss away every feeling of uncertainty or fear that each mark still held over Yugi, and replace them all with the bright hope of a better future.

Yugi's trembling fingers tugged at the hem of Yami's shirt. He was feeling uneasy, to say the least, since it seemed very clear that the two would go all the way tonight. Yugi knew there was going to be a few obstacles to come with this. His paranoia and fear of what Yami would think handling a damaged and broken body. But then again, his anger with himself for ever thinking that Yami would throw him away like that cancelled those feelings out.

However, Yugi prayed that Kyouske's ghost wouldn't come back to haunt him. Not now, when he was finally going to make love with Yami, and not ever.

Their eyes connected once more. Sheering crimson and husky amethyst – with such a simple connection, words were spoken that neither would probably never be able to express without actions following shortly after.

Yami rested his tanned hand against his aibou's small one, and assisted with taking off his shirt. After that was all take care of, the crimson-eyed teen placed gentle and reassuring hands on his little one's shoulders, and eased him back on the Twister mat once more.

He kissed Yugi's forehead, the space between his eyes, Yugi's nose, and both his cheeks, before he ravaged his lips once more. His hands danced along Yugi's exposed skin, loving the mixed feeling of his touches. Some places were bumpy, while some were rough, and others were incredibly smooth.

Oh, how he wondered what those places would _taste _like.

Yugi moaned into the kiss, his hips bucking lightly at every touch that brushed against a bruise or scar. His legs came to wrap around Yami's waist, begging for them to finally escalate to the next step, but Yami's words broke him out of that thought.

"Not here." Yami whispered gruffly, picking his aibou up, and holding him tightly against his chest, with Yugi's legs wrapped around his waist, and arms treaded behind his neck. "If we're going to make love… it's not going to be on a fucking Twister mat."

Yugi would have giggled if it weren't for the fact that Yami was dead serious about their first time being on an actual bed. Adjusting his grip, Yugi buried his face into the crook of Yami's neck and placed butterfly kisses along the throbbing vein. Yami moaned, and held back every ounce of instinct to just take Yugi there and then.

Shifting Yugi's position – their erections rubbing against each other during the process – Yami ran up the stairs, taking two at a time, anxious to reach their bedroom.

"Don't forget to use the condom and lube I left you guys on the counter!" Mokuba shouted behind them. He grinned when he was answered by the sound of slamming door. Happy with how his planned turned out, the little lion placed the twister spinner on the arm rest of the leather couch, and carefully made his way past the humping forms of Eiji and Kio, and towards the kitchen.

"Hmm… I think I'll have some Orange Juice."

+Save the Innocent: We're Finally Making Love+

Yami laid Yugi on the bed like he was the most precious jewel in the world that required the delicate care and attention or else it could break. His view of his little one was absolutely breathtaking.

Yugi's hair was sprawled against the pillow, and his little one's body was covered in a light sheen of sweat. Yugi's face was flushed, and his eyes were half-lidded in want. Those deliciously, pink lips were parted and swollen from being ravaged only a few minutes before.

His crimson eyes skidded to the nice bulge that was presented in Yugi's pants. Yami's fingers traced a invisible line down the bulge, resulting in a gasp to erupt from Yugi's throat, and his legs to come together to hide the erection.

"Don't be scared," Yami crawled over his aibou's body protectively, intertwining their fingers together as he laid his forehead against Yugi's. "I won't do anything you don't want me to. We'll take it slow and easy." He kissed Yugi on the forehead a few times for emphasis.

Yugi squeezed his eyes shut and softly nodded. He had to come over the dull feeling of fear that was trying to snake its way through his body. 'It's not Kyouske… It's not Kyouske… It's _Yami_.'

Fingers still intertwined, Yami gently coaxed Yugi into another tongue-induced kiss, breaking contact only when the need of air was evident. A thin trail of saliva followed their lips, before popping silently. Yami grinned, and slowly danced his fingers along his aibou's sides, relishing in the shivers and squirms and little moans he got from Yugi.

His eyes lowered once more at the beautiful sight of Yugi's awaiting neck, and without much warning, his lips connected to the reddening flesh. His tongue lapped until he thought the area was nicely taken care of, before digging his teeth slightly into Yugi's neck.

Yugi's eyes flew open, fear coursing through his veins that perhaps this wonderful moment was all a dream, and that Kyouske was the one attacking his neck. But when he found the comforting gaze of his lover's curious eyes, he lowered his guard and allowed the feeling of pleasure to wash through him.

Yami's tongue trailed down Yugi's neck, nipping at the collar bone, and living a tiny mark here and there, before his lips got attached to a cute, little nub. He curiously flicked at the pink stub, experiment what sort of response he would get from Yugi. When he saw Yugi's lips part, and a breathy moan escape that sinful mouth, Yami didn't stop himself from biting and sucking on the nub as he pleased.

The little one's back arched, like sparks of electricity just got sent throughout his body. Sending all his nerves into frenzy, his blood pumping, his heart hammering, and his erection pleading for sweet and wonderful release.

But Yami could be such a tease.

After he had mercilessly lapped at one nub, he attacked the other one with the same movement, moaning when he felt Yugi's hips rub wantonly against his throbbing erection. He needed to be inside Yugi so badly right now, but he had to patient, and take things slow before plunging head first into this… literally.

A wet, pink tongue trailed down Yugi's chest, stopping here and there to kiss every mark on his body. Fingers danced and tickled up and down his spine. Pleasure and love ran through his system like a wonderful buzz from an adrenaline rush. Yugi wanted Yami… soon… _now_.

"Yami… hurry…" he pleaded, his arms tightening around Yami's shoulders, as his hips bucked once more against the Egyptian's erection.

Grunting, Yami made quick work of Yugi's shorts and underwear until he was staring face to face with Yugi's leaking manhood. His throat suddenly turned dry, and his dick felt tighter than it had before at all the thoughts of what wonderful things he could do to this beautiful organ.

Glancing upwards for the okay, he cautiously flicked his tongue against the slit of Yugi's manhood. He was nervous, of course, since this was the first time he'd _actually_ be making love to someone – especially a guy – but for some reason, all his nervousness went away when Yugi's moans pleaded for more, and his hips bucked wildly once again.

This time, he dragged his tongue slowly up and down the leaking shaft, lapping up Yugi's pre-cum as it dripped from his manhood. His fingers went to work at the bottom of the shaft, playing and squeezing with the balls.

Yugi trashed up above, incoherent thoughts running through his mind, and moans of pleasure escaping his lips. He never felt such intense pleasure before, and Yami was merely teasing! He wanted Yami's mouth to devour him completely. To send him into the bliss that was Cloud 9.

Bucking his hips in a sign that he wanted more, Yami quickly answered his silent pleas as his mouth engulfed Yugi inch by inch. The little one screamed Yami's name in pleasure, as a fresh coat of sweat trickled down his forehead. He was panting heavily, and Yami's tongue mouth just felt so good; slowly sucking up and down…

Slow and lazy movements, slowly started to pick up along with the rise and rush of the sweet release soon to come. Yugi could feel his stomach clench and unclench at his oncoming climax. He threaded his fingers through Yami's hair, and brought him downward, allowing his member to become even more engulfed into that sinful mouth.

"Y-Yami!" Yugi screamed as he came hard into Yugi's mouth, his hips rolling along with the orgasm.

Yami waited until Yugi was down from his high, before placing a soft kiss against the little one's temples.

"Yugi… I want inside you so badly…" he moaned into his ear.

"T-Take me… please." Yugi begged.

Yami didn't have to be told twice.

He searched for the lube and condom Mokuba screamed at him to use on the counter. Once he found them, he coated a nice amount of the cold liquid onto his fingers. Yami prodded Yugi's puckered entrance, internally wincing at the slight tremble that rushed through Yugi's body.

"It's okay… keep going."

Nodding, Yami captured Yugi into another kiss – hopefully distracting him from any pain – as the first finger wriggled and worked its way into Yugi's entrance. His aibou's breath hitched only slightly, until a coaxing tongue came to soothe his troubles away.

After a few thrusts from his first finger, Yami slowly worked in his second finger, as well. He scissor and thrust his fingers into the entrance, relishing at how tightly his aibou was sucking up his fingers.

Just think of what it would feel like to have his cock wrapped around those tight walls…

Pain started to turn into a dull sense of pleasure as Yugi's hips rocked against those wonderful fingers. Oh God… he wanted Yami inside him soon…

"Hurry – AH!" Yugi saw stars as, finally, the third finger was inserted, and all three of them brushed against his prostrate.

"This is going to hurt…" Yami kissed Yugi once more, before his fingers retreated from his little one's entrance. Yugi whined at the lost feeling of being filled, but he knew the real thing was shortly coming up.

The crimson-eyed teen, realizing that his pants _still_ weren't off, blushed deeply, and quickly undid his pants and threw them somewhere, before crawling back over Yugi. Sweet kisses were placed against his little one's lips, as he eased the tip of his member inside of his aibou.

Yami groaned at the feeling of tightness enclosing his member. Being inside of Yugi felt even well than he had ever dreamed! Holding onto that thin strand of control he had left, he continued going slower and slower until he was completely inside of Yugi.

Amethyst eyes flashed open, dormant fear spreading throughout his body. He started to trash, and scream like bloody murder, wanting the intruder out of his body, and _now_! His fist blindly connected with Yami's chest – mistaking his love with Kyouske, completely forgetting that his stepfather was dead.

Confusion swept over Yami, before realization dawned on him that Yugi was probably suffering from a severe flashback. He gripped Yugi by the wrists, only to intertwine their fingers together in a silent bond. He kissed Yugi's ear, his cheek, his forehead, and finally his lips until Yugi's violent trashing ceased.

"Look at me, Yugi."

"No, get away from me, Kyouske!"

"Yugi, look at me! I'm not Kyouske! It's me… Yami."

Yugi blinked back tears as his world slowly came back into focus. He quickly buried his face into Yami's neck, silently cursing himself for getting so caught up in his own uneasy feelings to get so swept away like that. He felt like such a coward. They had got so far, only to be stopped by Yugi's still clinging fear!

"Just look at me, Yugi. Look at me the whole time… and don't turn away." Yami gently coaxed his love out of his hiding spot. Crimson clashed with amethyst one more time, before Yami gave one gentle thrust, hitting Yugi directly in the prostrate.

Yugi screamed at the intense rush of pleasure that flooded his body, and caused it to shake and tremble as the aftershock. Yami kept his slow pace for as much as he could stand, waiting until Yugi gave the incentive to let all things loose. With precise movements, he aimed for the prostrate and hit it every time, enjoying the look of pleasure that flashed through Yugi's face.

"M-More… Yami, please – FASTER!"

Yami gladly picked up his speed. Bodies rocked against one another in a sultry tango, where the two danced on the stage that was their bed, to the music of their moans, the sound of flesh and flesh slapping against each other, and the squeaking of the mattress from sweet abuse.

A final spike of pleasure rippled through Yugi's body, as his orgasm finally crashed and rocked his tiny frame. His essence spilled across his chest, painting it as if his body were a fine work of art.

Yugi's inner walls clamped around Yami's member, pushing the crimson-eyed teen over the edge, filling his little one with his own essence. He collapsed on top of his boyfriend, the two sharing one final, lazy kiss, before allowing their tiredness to overcome them.

The two fell asleep in each other's arms, legs tangled together, and fingers happily intertwined. Yugi never felt such emotions buzz through him as he did now. Safety, warmth, love, adoration, and affection. It had taken them the trials of Hell to get to where they were now, and in the end it was all worth it.

'Daisuke's going to let me have it tomorrow…' he thought – temporarily forgetting that Daisuke rarely talked to him now – smiling at the peaceful look on his lover's face, before kissing him softly on the lips.

"I love you, Yami."

Yami cracked an eye open; only to smile at the angelic expression on his lover's face.

"I love you too, Yugi."

* * *

Haaa, I just love Eiji and Kio now 8D. My beautiful OC'S getting it on on a Twister mat. Those crazy kids! -makes heart with hands-.

AND FINALLY YUGI AND YAMI MADE LOVE! Yes, I know, Yugi had a mini-freak attack. But I thought that would make sense, since the last time he _had_ sex -cough RAPE cough- was when he was Kyouske. The irrational part of his mind kicked in and BLAM! We get some minor angst thrown into the pot of steamy love making 8D.

I'm REALLY pumped right now! Mostly because I think the Double Chocolatly Chip Frappachinooo I had from Starbucks is kicking in! And Pokemon Black comes out NEXT SUNDAY! I'M TOTALLY GONNA BUY THAT SHIZZ, YO!

EEPPPAAAhhh.. Okay, nuff of that :L.

**Check out my mediaminer account, if you wish, I have the first chapter for two Yu-Gi-Oh fanfics I was working on, posted up there. If you'd like to read em, then go stalk my profile and click on the pwetty little link 8D. **

Next chapter we find out who the baby's fathaaaa isss!

"LUKE, I AM YOUR FATHA!"

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

Okay, sorry, done here.

Hope you all enjoyed chapter 26 :D. Till next time, eh?


	27. Chapter 27

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delayed update! But I had finals to study for, heartbreak to mend, and bitches to stomp :o! Okay, I really didn't stomp anyone, but I DID have soccer tryouts. All in all, it was one hell of a week for this simple freshy T^T.

ANYWHO! This chapter is all angsty and drama filled action packed! I really delved into the character of Duke a little - or as I like to think :D. And at the end... Well, you just have to read that and find out!

I have no school, it's like 11 in the morning, and Chowder is stealing my attention o.o.

So read and Enjoy :D.

* * *

+Save the Innocent: It's a Long Day+

"If you touch me one more damn time, Kio, I will decapitate you and throw you into the nearest river I can find!" Eiji yelled, trying desperately to pull off his eager attacker, but to no luck. Kio was just so damned stubborn.

"You're so heartless, Eiji." Kio whined, tightening his grip around the smaller one's waist. "Didn't last night mean anything to you?"

"Oh yes, because having my mouth raped on a Twister mat is such a boat load full of fun memories!" scowling, the smaller man finally managed to wriggle his way out of Kio's grasp and scoffed over to the coffee maker. He needed some caffeine, and he needed it _now_ to send his mind into a whir of random buzzes.

"Last time I checked, you didn't exactly say no to my advances." Kio nonchalantly leaned against the table, a lop-sided grin happily adorned on his face.

Eiji's cheeks burned with anger, embarrassment, and maybe even something more as his eyes took those five extra seconds to study the man's face, before whipping his head into the other direction and scowling. Oh how he wished he could just wipe that damn grin off the man's face!

"Dad, I thought you were going to stop teasing Eiji from now on." Yugi's bed head sprayed out in all directions as he slowly entered the kitchen. The only thing he had on was an oversized t-shirt that went passed his knees, as he walked over to the fridge to make some cereal.

Kio merely cocked an eyebrow. He tried hard not to gaze at the obvious love bites on his son's exposed legs and neck, but that was sort of hard to do since the colors contrasted so well.

"Well, if Eiji wasn't so cute, I wouldn't have to tease him."

Well then, that comment earned Kio a smack to the head.

"Fuck off, you bastard!" Eiji screamed, and trudged off to the living room for some peace and quiet. Honestly, you'd think by the way the man was acting; he would have already gone and left by now.

Kio frowned. Eiji was just as stubborn as he was cute. Ruffling his son's hair a little, earning a whining/yawn mixture from Yugi, Kio headed for the living room to tame the wild beast.

Yugi's mind was still clouded by sleep. As he sat at the table, his movements were slow while he ate at his cereal, his mind started to wander to the events of last night. Without even realizing it, his own hand was gripping on so tightly to the front of the shirt – Yami's shirt. A blush stained his cheeks when he found himself sniffing the collar.

God… it smelt so good…

"I hope you like the smell of a shirt that's two days late for a wash." Yami's chuckle rumbled throughout Yugi's body, sending the little one's legs trembling like a delicious plate of Jell-O.

Yami's lean body was propped against the newly painted doorframe, his hair spiking out in more directions than usual, with his arms crossed against his chest and a playful smirk teasing his lips. The only thing the Egyptian was wearing was a pair of warm sweatpants that hung precariously low on his hips. Yugi had to hold back the blatant urge to drool all over the table, along with trying to calm down his perky member at the sight of his Egyptian.

That's right, _his_ Egyptian, and no one was ever going to pry them apart again.

Or so he thought…

+Save the Innocent+

A few hours later, and everyone was finally awake and chilling out in the living room. Kio not-too-long ago had offered to take Eiji home (you can only imagine the amount of objections the brunette had put up to this), mostly to talk things out about last night, and possibly even learn more about the strange man that had intrigued him so.

Everyone else was pretty much left to their own devices for the remainder of the day.

They had all decided to watch a movie since it was a Sunday afternoon and they had nothing better to do. The movie was a generic one – as far as movies go – the plot involving some secretary and her boss falling for one another in a comically romantic way. Mokuba had wanted to watch an action movie, but he was getting enough action from the two couples in the room to make up for it.

In one love seat, Yugi and Yami were happily snuggling with one another, barely watching the movie, as sweet nothings were exchanged in-between kisses.

On the other love seat, Kaiba and Jou were pretty much all over each other – the movie completely wiped out from their memories. The brunette was currently whispering all the perverted things he would do to his blonde tonight while leaving gentle kisses on his neck. Jou allowed his imagination to fly, getting absolutely turned on by the things that were going to happen.

And poor little Mokuba was stuck in-between it all. It was so hard to concentrate on the movie when moans erupted at the wrong moments during the film. 'These for are going to corrupt me!' Mokie threw the remote with a whine and stalked off to his bedroom for his mind-numbing Xbox.

Really, it was a surprise how well Mokuba stayed straight in such a homosexual environment.

+Save the Innocent+

Their lips pulled apart albeit reluctantly. A thin trail of saliva was the only tangible thing connecting their swollen flesh together. Yami's dark, crimson eyes skimmed over that small – yet highly delectable – body of his love before they landed on the considering bulge poking through Yugi's pants.

Yugi gasped when he felt a warm hand slip into his pants, past his boxers, and kneed his cute little ass. His hips bucked in time to the erotic rhythm, his member was aching painfully for the same attention as his arms tightened around Yami's neck.

Their lips were slowly being tugged closer, as if some weird, magnetic pull was drawing them in for the plunge. They were both throbbing for that delicious touch that would send every nerve in their body into a sparked frenzy, their hearts hammering into overdrive, and their blood to buzz in a whir of passion, when the doorbell chimed around the house.

Yami groaned, and Yugi pouted, as he bumped his head against his aibou's. He felt all that heat and passion that was swirling around his body flush out of his system as another chime buzzed in his ears.

Jeez, what a mood killer.

"Mokuba, can you get the door please?" Yami cried from the couch.

"Get off Yugi and get it yourself!" Mokuba cried back. The little lion was too obsessed with his perfect gaming world to be bothered with.

The crimson-eyed teen sighed. Mokuba was just too bloody stubborn for his own damn good sometimes. Kissing Yugi on the cheek as a small parting gesture, Yugi reluctantly untangled their bodies and headed for the door. Before his hand touched the door knob though, he realized that his shirt was half way up his chest – exposed brown nubs and a well toned chest – and his sweatpants were nearly tugged off from their couch session.

As that annoying doorbell chimed over and over again, Yami adjusted his pants, fixed his shirt, and smoothed his hair before placing a scowl on his face and opening the door.

"Yes?" Yami quirked an eyebrow, leaning against the doorframe appearing ticked off as hell.

The teen before him flashed emerald eyes across his frame, before his fingers started to toy with his midnight black ponytail.

"Are you Yami?"

The Egyptian steeled his voice, "Depends. Who wants to know?"

The emerald-eyed teen barely flinched at the tone, so Yami couldn't tell whether or not the boy was cocky, or just unshaken by most threats. Either way, he didn't like this kid one bit.

"The name's Duke, Duke Devlin, and I have something to say."

Yami just quirked another slim eyebrow towards Duke, noticing the way he would shift his way from foot to foot, and how his hands were either playing with the dice at the end of his earring, or toying with his hair. Oh yeah, this dude had some _serious_ nervous habits on his hands, meaning that whatever he wanted to say must be pretty important.

Since Yami was always the generous person he was, he decided to allow the guy to say what he needed to say. He did manage to get all the way here, right? Even though how he managed to get here still baffled the daylights out of Yami, he might as well let Duke humor him a little.

"Alright," Yami relaxed of the doorframe, his arms falling to his sides as he dropped his defensive demeanor. "So tell me, what's so important that you came all the way here, Duke?"

Duke sighed and ran a tired hand through his hair once more. His five cups of coffee were slowly wearing out, and he felt all the energy and cockiness he had stored up for this meeting slip away like an unlucky catch for a fish. He honestly had no idea how well Yami would react to the news he was about to share, but something was telling him to expect a _lot _of hostility.

"Do you mind if we did this inside…?" Duke motioned forward, "You might want to sit down for what I'm about to tell you."

Yami examined the boy's face, but this time he took into account every little detail as he tried to read his expression. When he came with nothing but absolute seriousness and piercing green eyes filled with determination – and was that slight remorse? – Yami stepped aside.

"Come on in."

+Save the Innocent: The Truth Hits Home+

Duke heaved a deep and lungful breath. It was like a heavy weight had just been lifted off his shoulders, only to be placed on the shoulders of everyone else in the room.

It was obvious that the news had hit hard. From his point of view, the blonde and Kaiba were sitting on one couch, their lips set in a tight line and their eyes hardening with, what Duke could only guess was, resentment of some sort.

Yugi and Yami, on the other hand, were gripping tightly onto their clasped hands. Like their intertwined appendages were the only clear link they had to each other. One wrong move, one single snap, and their bond could easily be severed, was what Duke thought. The taller one was visibly shaking despite the constant stroking of reassurance from the smaller one.

Duke had anticipated this reaction, more or less, and it was only a matter of time in his mind until the whole explosive mixture of emotions started to set in. All he had to do was sit and wait.

As expected, Kaiba was the first to speak up as he tried to asses the situation to the best of his abilities.

"Who told you?"

Duke started to play with his ponytail, "You know how jail mates usually have that one phone call? Well, Anzu called me earlier today and told me everything. She seemed royally pissed, though, and she let me know exactly how she felt about the whole thing. Then, since I realized the chick was all sorts of crazy, I gave her an earful myself." He sighed listlessly, "The phone went dead after that."

Yami was the next one in line to speak. "So you have no doubt in your mind then?"

Duke shook his head, "None, man. The baby isn't ours, that much for sure."

Yugi let out a huge sigh of relief albeit a little guilty. When Duke had stepped through those doors, he was a absolutely worried about what to expect. For some reason, his mind had kept wandering back to the unborn child that was growing in Anzu's stomach. Thoughts like: 'What if the baby is Yami's?' and 'What what would happen to it?' were swarming and gnawing at his mind like a pesky gnat.

However, when Duke had thoroughly explained himself, since it was a little weird to see some stranger at your door step, Yugi felt heaps of compassion for this guy who seemed to have cared for Anzu deeply, only to have his feelings stomped into the dirt until grounded into a pitiful mess of a broken heart.

Yugi could see right through him. Even though he put on such a calm and uncaring front, this whole thing must be eating him from the inside, out.

Speaking of emotions, Duke, who had thought he was keeping his in check, didn't think the wincing pain of rejection would catch up to him so quickly. Annoying tears prickled the corner of his eyes, and he was holding back the urge to release a choked sob.

But… why was he crying, though?

Their relationship was nothing but a pleasant fuck dirtied by drugs and secrets. Hell, Anzu was using him as a replacement boy toy since she couldn't get her hands on the real thing, when Duke was normally the one to use, control, lie; the works.

But… he was getting better, although the process was a freaking slow one.

Even so, somewhere along the line Duke had found himself falling for the brunette's cute quirks. The way she played with her hair, or gnawed on her bottom lip when she was stressed out or thinking hard on something.

So you must see, it was quite a difficult task for Duke to use his connections to arrive where he was now and drop the bomb about how the baby was neither his nor Yami's but in fact some other guy thrown into the mix all together.

Duke was no fool, though. He always saw Yami was as competition, especially when Anzu and he were having sex. It's kind of hard to play cool when your "girlfriend" screams out some other guy's name while climaxing. In all honesty, he hated Yami, thinking that the Egyptian would one day take "his" girl away. Reality though slapped him hard across the face when he realized that Yami had no feelings whatsoever for the brunette, leaving Duke to feel like a complete idiot in the end.

"Whore…" Jou bit out in a harsh whisper with a slight sneer in the tone.

"You watch your mouth, Blondie!" Duke snapped right back. There was a small flame of anger that bubbled in his stomach that he knew it was unwise to allow it to grown and cloud his conscious. But as quickly as it came, it went like the wind had just blown it out.

He felt like some love-struck idiot! Defending a girl who wasn't just using him, but cheating on him too! But he still had called Jou out to protect Anzu. Averting his eyes to a nearby cushion, he leaned back in the seat with his arms crossed as he mumbled a weak apology.

"Look, I don't know you and all, but obviously you feel something for that who- I mean, Anzu." Jou quickly fixed his 'slip-up' when he felt Duke's sharp gaze pierce him again. "But yah gotta admit this is some messed up shit right here! I admire you and all, keeping strong to your feelings and what not, but you've been played, dude."

Duke felt like he had just been kicked in the stomach by an over-sized soccer player named 'Reality'. His head fell into his hands, and he couldn't stop the tears he had been holding back since this first confrontation with Anzu all those weeks ago. He'd try to play the asshole card, only to have it slap him right back in the face. Now look at him! Duke was having a completely breakdown on some stranger's couch, when _he _was the one that was supposed to be witnessing tears. This was so utterly beneath him!

He continued to sob for God knows how long until he felt small and warm fingers gently rub circles on his back. When he looked up, emerald clashed melted and molded with compassionate amethyst eyes.

"Don't cry over Anzu," Yugi whispered. "She's really not worth it. You've been used, and it hurts, I know, but you seem like a really nice guy who deserves someone who loves you completely."

Duke eyes were covered with a heavy shadow. He refused to look at this brat any longer who was spouting absolute nonsense in his ears. "You don't know her…" the words fell out as a hushed whisper, lacking any real form of venom of animosity at all.

Yugi heard the words, and his eyes dulled down slightly as the next few words escaped his mouth. "I do know her. Quite well, actually…" the words were edgy, and a tad bit snarky, something Duke never thought could come out of someone so small. "We were the best of friends, and then one day she just dropped me like a bad habit." His voice was hallowed without emotion, "The only time she came back was when she wanted something form me… Only to come out and accuse me to my face, and treat me like some annoying disease."

Yugi lifted his eyes up, and amethyst and emerald clashed once more, "So don't you dare tell me I know nothing about her."

+Save the Innocent+

Duke had left an hour later, holding on to some of his pride after that embarrassing outburst. Yugi had apologized as well, saying he didn't know what had gotten into him before, but he knew exactly what it had been.

The small teen curled onto his side, his knees up to his chest, as he fingered the crisp, blue sheets within his grasp. Before Duke had left though, the inevitable question of what to do with the baby had left everybody swamped. Who knew if Anzu would do something drastic since she'd be completely alone throughout her pregnancy? Or if they would ever be able to lay eyes on the baby at all once it was born.

To make matters worse, there was no trace of where the biological father was, from what Duke had told them, and no one could say without a shadow of a doubt that Anzu wouldn't plunge off the deep end due to her circumstances.

His fingers clenched, and his body shivered, at his next thought. 'Why am I so concerned about a baby that has no relation to me?' It was ridiculous, to say the least. These feelings of uneasiness were flooding his veins, clouding his judgment, and he had know idea how o stop them.

Just then, the sound of a door creaking opened flooded Yugi's ears. And the feeling of the bed being pushed down as another body's weight was added on made him shiver when the arms belonging to that body slipped around his torso comfortably.

"Hey," Yami whispered into Yugi's neck, his breath sending tingles dancing along Yugi's spine, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Yugi whispered, trying hard to ignore Yami's heavy gaze.

"Bull," he tightened his grip around Yugi's waist. "Now tell me what's eating you up inside." Although the crimson-eyed teen had a pretty good idea what it was, he just wanted to confirm his suspicions.

Yugi sighed and turned himself over in Yami's arms so that they were staring face to face. He interlaced their fingers together and looked Yami dead in the eye before releasing a breath he never realized he was holding in.

"The baby…" the instant the words were brought out into the open, Yami's eyes went through a spectrum of wild emotions. From confusion his eyes softened into sadness, only to harden again in slight anger and irritation, until they melted in empathy for his aibou.

It was surprising how caring his little one was. And every moment he spent with his aibou allowed him to see more and more of the Yugi he wanted to spend his life with. The baby had absolutely nothing to do with him, yet he still cared for the infant's welfare like it was his very own.

The anger and irritation though came from how, no matter how much they tried to push Anzu out of their lives, a little trace of her would follow them wherever they went. Whether it would be memories or the unborn baby that was slowly growing that held an intangible rope to their ankles, making escape absolutely useless.

"Yugi, we've talked about this. The baby isn't ours. And no matter how mean or nasty it sounds, it's really not our responsibility. Duke already made arrangements of adopting the baby once it's born." He nuzzled his face closer and placed a soft kiss on Yugi's flawless, porcelain neck. "So please… just let it go…"

But letting go is always the hardest part…

+Save the Innocent: Psychotic Ambitions+

Eight months. It had been eight months since Anzu was jailed for rape and illegal drug use as a minor. One month and seven days from now her little baby would be brought into the ugly world of lies, deceit, love, and pain.

Tomorrow was Anzu's birthday. The brunette scoffed at the thought. How lovely to celebrate your eighteenth birthday in a jail cell with your belly as big as a watermelon. She gazed upwards at the flickering lights above her, wondering how long it would be until lights out.

'That's easy, seven minutes.' She answered her silent question as she stared at the empty bed her jail mate shared. Anzu smirked at her rambunctious prison mate. She was always sneaking out to get laid before lights out, and somehow managed to sneak in before the patrol officer came to check the cells.

'Six minutes…' she thought as she gripped the make-shift rope she had labored on for the past ten minutes. It was a simple device really, made by tying the two pieces of bed sheets together until they resembled the shape of a noose.

'Four minutes…' she thought as he went into the bathroom to check her face. If she was going to go out, she might as well look good for the part. She slicked her hair back, allowing her last few shreds of sanity to fly out the window as she walked back out with a chair.

'Two minutes…' Anzu wrapped the blanket first at the pipe nearest the window. It was the highest point of the cell, and that was the perfect place for her. She gave the sheets a tight pull, making sure everything was snug and tight.

'Thirty seconds…' she stepped onto the chair, and slipped the noose around her neck. Allowing her eyes to close, she counted down the last final seconds before she started to tip her chair over.

"Lights out."

* * *

Well then, dramatic ending, ne?

Just to put that out there, I don't support killing an innocent life and what not, like Anzu was attempting to do in the end of the chapter. Now I'm not going to tell you if they survived or not, that's not until the next chapter, or the chapter after that. Just know that I was really gnawing at my nails trying to decide whether or not I wanted to end the chapter this way.

Sadly, we have **5** more chapters till STI is done. Which means I'll either be focused on getting some new fanfic out, or continuing my old ones. Either way, I'm still stuck at crossroads with this Dx.

Thank you all for reading STI 27! I freaking love you all uberlies :3.

Next chapter we'll skip ahead a few weeks, and Yugi tries to recconect with Daisuke. What happens after that, who knows 8D.

Till next time :3.


	28. Chapter 28

***Sorry for the LONG delay! FF was not working for at least two weeks for me and I couldn't update ANYTHING! Thank you all for being so patient, and here's chapter 28 :D***

Short chapter with a "Beautiful" ending as always :D.

Haha, I'm actually not content with the ending of this chapter, and I tweaked it here and there but I'm only somewhat sastified now.

ALSO! In this chapter Yugi has a talk with Daisuke and we all know where that's going to head... and also at the end a surprise that you probably all saw coming o.o.

Clears throat- It's like, nearly 10 AM and I'm watching Bleach episodes on my ipod :D.

I hope you enjoyed this short little chapter! The next one should be a little bit longer. I'm going to start working on it now and see if I can make this day a double update :3. Who knows?

Read and Enjoy!

* * *

+Save the Innocent+

Yugi sighed, tapping the end of his pencil to the top as nose, completely lost in thought. This math problem was just so damn hard! He didn't know what in the world he was supposed to do with the 'x' and was just tempted to circle the letter and write 'There's X' in his bold red pen.

'Come on, Yugi, you know this.' But no matter how much he willed himself on to complete the problem, his brain just wasn't wracking anything at all. Sighing once again, Yugi flung his pencil to the other side of the desk and rested his head in his hands.

"I wish Yami were here," he said longingly, his eyes tracking the flight patterns of the birds flying outside. Yami had to go out for the day. Something about he had things to do and places to be at, so he left Yugi with a wonderful good bye kiss and a long list of sexual activities the two would get into once he returned.

That alone got Yugi nearly half-hard and a little bit more excited to pick up his work, only to slam the pencil in frustration when he couldn't get his thoughts to focus on one single point. 'This is absolutely pointless!' he sighed loudly and flopped on his bed with his hands behind his head and his eyes trained on the ceiling.

'I need Daisuke to slap some sense into me…' just thinking about his other ego brought a wave of sadness crashing through. Just where in the world was his – literally – common sense when he needed it? The last time he had talked to the blunt voice was three or four weeks ago. After that, every single time he tried to reach out to him he'd get answered by deafening silence.

"Maybe he'll answer this time." He tried to reassure himself. Maybe this time really would be different after all. Closing his eyes, Yugi willed himself to push through the boundaries of his mind and search for his other half. For a while, he got nothing but darkness and silence. With a little more searching he was able to find Daisuke leaning against his mind's wall with a grim expression on his face.

The light surrounding him was growing dimmer and dimmer…

_Daisuke, where the heck have you been!_

Daisuke cocked his head to the left, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his lips. **Just chillin'. **

_For four weeks? _Yugi yelled, holding back the urge to beat Daisuke to a bloody pulp. _You pretty much left me alone to fend for myself!_

If Daisuke were smoking, he would have released the cigarette from his lips to draw out a long puff of smoke before grinning. But instead, he just stuck to his wry grin. **Oh that was complete bull, Kid. You know for a fucking fact you're not alone anymore. **

Yugi cocked his head to the side in confusion. What was Daisuke trying to say here…?

_But Daisuke-_

**But nothing, Kid! **Daisuke nearly snapped and stomped his foot to reinforce his point. **You know exactly what I'm talking about. Now that you've got that love struck puppy of a boyfriend and friends who'd go to the fucking ends of Switzerland and back for you, you have no use for me anymore. **

The little's ones eyes rose in shock. The sheer force of the anger that was seeping through Daisuke's words, and the tense movements and stances Daisuke was going through made the boy take one step back. Daisuke looked truly pissed. And the thought that Yugi probably _did _– although unintentionally – pushed his inner ego back into the dark reaches of his mind nearly brought the little teen to tears.

_Daisuke, I'm so sorry…_

Daisuke sneered and brought his ponytail out of his hold to fan out on his back. **Saying sorry never changes a thing, Kid. Besides, I know there must be a reason why you dropped me like a fucking bad habit. **He glared at the boy, silently enjoying the way he squirmed under his gaze. **'I'm fucking with him too much,'** He thought quietly, nearly slapping himself when he saw a stray tear cascade down Yugi's face.

**Shit…** he mumbled and scooped Yugi in his arms. In Yugi's mind, the touch felt so real, so _alive_, that he found himself gripping to the back of Daisuke's shirt as if it were some lifeline. **I was a little too mean, eh? **Daisuke felt Yugi nod into his chest and choked out a chuckle. **Normally, mean tactics normally drive people away, but shit, Yugi. I tried to do this the easy way and you just make things ten times harder.**

Yugi lifted his head from Daisuke's chest and stared at him in confusion. _What do you mean?_

Daisuke sighed and brought Yugi back over to his little corner before setting him on his lap. The position seemed strange, yet somehow comforting in the same way. **You know how some people act like bitches to push people away for their own benefit? Well, that's what I tried to do, only to have the whole thing blow up in my face. **He chuckled and brought Yugi closer, ruffling the little one's spiked head. **You just have to make my job so fucking difficult, don't you?**

The little one connected two and two together, and literally winched at the gut wrenching pain that shot through him. Daisuke was really leaving… and this was just some way he could say goodbye in the least, most terrible way, possible. Although that plan had flushed down the toilet since Yugi still couldn't hold back his tears. It seemed like only yesterday that he had discovered there was another presence in his mind, and only a few days after that that he finally came to terms with it – even grateful!

Now, the one part of his life that gave him a secure stability for so many years was leaving him. And there wasn't a single thing he could do about it.

Daisuke sighed, allowing the boy to cry into his shoulder as he threaded nimble fingers through those locks once more. He _really_ wanted to avoid this situation as much as possible – his little heart couldn't take the sight of seeing Yugi so distraught – but obviously avoiding that crossroad was pretty much impossible.

**Yugi, look, it was bound to happen sooner or later. **

_Then why not later instead of now when everything in my life has finally become perfect?_

**That's the point, Kid. **Daisuke pushed Yugi away until they were an arm's length apart to give a crooked smile. **You're life **is **perfect. There's no need for me anymore. I was just created to take away your pain. Now that your pain is finally gone, Yugi, and that you have actually human beings to help you in times of trouble, my presence isn't needed. **

Yugi shook his head almost defiantly. _I still need you, Daisuke! _

His alter ego smirked. A strange flash of sadness tinted his eyes for merely a second before softening. He had to bite back the urge to tell Yugi he'd stay as long as he wanted him too, but that would only put a stunt to his growth as an emotionally stable human being, and he really didn't want to be the cause of that.

**Yugi, you don't need me… You really don't. **He slowly got up and pulled his hair back into a ponytail that fell nicely on his shoulders. Smiling sadly, Daisuke started to move away inch by inch from Yugi, allowing the darkness to slowly succumb his body. **It was nice while it lasted, Kid. Just know I'll always be here for you… just not mentally. **He chuckled while a dark tendril crossed his chest. **Take good care of yourself Yugi… And get a tissue or somethin', the snot coming from your nose is so gross.**

The little one collapsed on the cold ground, watching his long time friend disappear into the expansive darkness. He clutched his chest and heaved a deep breath. It was like someone had ripped out a huge chunk of his heart just for the fun of it. His sobs were echoed before being drowned out in the darkness of his mind. It hurt so much… so _very _much, but he couldn't just sit there all day and sob like some child.

Daisuke would never accept that.

_That's right; _Yugi slowly stood up and straightened his back, wiping away the tears from his eyes. _Daisuke would be having a cow right now if he saw me cry like this. I've grown stronger… and that's why he left. So, I have to at least prove it to him that I really am strong. _The little one smiled towards the darkness, closing his eyes and whispering a soft prayer for Daisuke's safe travel wherever he went. It was a silly thing to do, but it seemed appropriate at the time.

"I'll miss you, Daisuke. Good bye." He let the words hang in the air, before turning on his heel and heading for the light.

+Save the Innocent: It Hurts, but You're here to heal the Pain+

"Yugi…?" Yami carefully jostled his little one from his curled up position on the bed. One minute he had walked in with a bouquet of flowers stashed behind his back just because he felt like Yugi's room needed a little sprinkle of color. That and he really wanted to see Yugi's bright smile directed towards him, while those lithe arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

What he didn't expect though was to see his little aibou curled up against a pillow with tears falling down his cheeks. He had instantly dropped the flowers on the nearby desk and ran immediately to his love's side.

"Yugi?" he tried again, shaking him a little more forceful than usual.

Dark amethyst eyes slowly fluttered opened, rimmed red from his persistent crying. Yugi sniffled, a blush staining his cheeks from the embarrassment of Yami seeing him like this, and quickly sat up.

He giggled slightly, "Heh… Morning, Yami."

Yami merely shook his head and moved over so that he was sitting next to Yugi before pulling his little one into his arms. "It's almost six o'clock in the afternoon." He chuckled slightly, "It's a little too early to be saying good morning. But… it's not too early to tell me what made you cry."

Yugi sighed, finding the warmth that Yami's body produced highly comforting, and snuggled into Yami's chest as far as he could go. He relaxed into the comforting position and began to tell Yami all about his interaction with Daisuke – his _last _interaction.

The whole time, Yami's grip on Yugi's body tightened as he felt every word of pain sink into his own body like tiny little needles.

+Save the Innocent: It's downhill from here+

Duke hummed a somewhat-happy tune as his studded ankle boots clacked against the newly mopped floor of the hospital. He couldn't stop the smile forming on his face as he clutched the bag tightly in his fist. Duke had just gotten word that Anzu's baby was finally born. He nearly peed himself in excitement from the news and rushed over as quickly as possible so he could see the new life that was brought into this world.

He bowed politely to the two cops on guard at Anzu's door. 'I guess not even the law gives leeway to pregnant women.' Duke thought as he opened the door and walked inside. The room was dark; the only source of light coming from the dim lights above, and Duke could hardly make out any of the shapes in the room.

"Where is she…?" he asked to the quietness around him as he gazed at the empty bed with the crumpled blankets scattered around. "Where's the baby?" he asked even louder, his heart rate picking up step by step until it was quieted by the soft coos of the baby tucked safely away in one of the beds accustomed for infants.

Duke's initial shock slowly faded away as this warm fuzzy feeling enveloped him. Technically, the baby he was staring so tenderly at wasn't even considered his. But that wouldn't stop him from loving the baby any less than if it were his own child.

"To think I've become a father at the age of twenty four." he laughed softly at those tiny little fingers that were desperately trying to grab for thin air. "But seriously… where the hell is Anzu?" Duke shook his head, thinking that Anzu probably went out to use the bathroom or something.

"Wait… wouldn't one of those guards have gone with her?"

Fear started to rise to new heights…

"Hey, Guards!" Duke cried, running out the room and gripping onto the doorknob for support.

One guard merely cocked his head, "Don't you know what time it is, kid?"

The other guard chuckled, "This is a hospital. No need to use your outside voice."

"Dammit, this is not a freaking time to joke!" Duke yelled, hoping it would knock _some _sense into these guards. "Haven't _anyone _of you noticed that Anzu isn't here?"

"What?" Both guards cried out simultaneously as they were rushed into the room, only to find out that Anzu really wasn't here. One guard whipped out a walkie talkie to call in reinforcements to block the area while the other one rushed to find a nurse.

A few minutes later and a decent amount of cops and nurses were stationed outside Anzu's room, all of them sporting looks of confusion. The only somewhat sane person at the moment was Duke who was currently holding the whimpering baby in his arms while he sat on the bed. His foot tapped and tapped on the tiled floor, rocking the baby back and forth to ease his whimpers.

"Shh," he whispered quietly, clutching the baby to his chest. His lips curled in a slight smile when the whimpers were eased and the baby's chest started to rise and fall to the time of much needed sleep. 'Jesus, Anzu, the baby's almost a day old here and you're putting him through such an ordeal.' He shook his head slowly and placed a soft kiss on the baby's forehead. "When you wake up, everything will be just fine."

But of course, nothing's ever really just fine.

The door slowly opened, and a defeated looking guard with bags under his eyes from sleep deprivation entered with his hat clutched tightly in his hand. His words came out as soft whispers as he shook his head back and forth in shame.

The nurses gasped, and the cops also took their caps off in remembrance as well. One nurse walked over to kneel at Duke's side, placing a reassuring hand on his knee and whispering the dreadful truth in his ears.

Duke's body stiffened as the words sunk in, settling in his mind, but the dots still weren't connecting. It couldn't be true, it couldn't possibly be true? But, no matter how much he willed the frightening reality away, it still kept biting and gnawing at the fabrics of his mind, proving it to be very real indeed.

The bag that was filled with Anzu's present fell from it's spot on the bed, a little teddy bear with a heart sewn to his chest falling out along with a letter that would never be opened. On the outside though were four, simple, letters.

_I love you, Anzu._

_

* * *

_

Blaarrrgh, I really shouldn't be on at 10 AM but ehhh...

And I'm so out of it too :/.

Only four more chapters to go guys... or maybe three... IDR o.o. Most likely four!

Anyway, next chapter Yugi's still slightly depressed so Yami takes Yugi out on another date! It's a sweet, fluffy chapter with a possible lemon involved :3. I feel like you guys need some happiness after that ending!

Okay, one more thing! If you guys didn't understand the ending... that was just my attempt of a lame foreshadowing-thingy! Basically speaking, Anzu failed at her attempted suicide, gave birth to the baby, but was all stupid enough to go out and kill herself again...

This time it was a success. Sorry to all your Anzu fans out there...

Till next time.

(This was the most boring A/N I have EVER typed T^T)

***IDK when chapter 29 is coming out! Hopefully sometimes this week, or next week. Thank you all for being so patient :D. Hahah, I love you all!***


	29. Chapter 29

**WARNINGGG! This is a fluffy lemon :3.**

LMFAO! Hey guys! Sorry for the looong delay. I've just been dealing with shitty stuff and I haven't been in the writing mood v.v. And I know, I know, you probably hear this ALL the time from other authors! But that's okay... because we can make up excuses for our lack of updating -evil grin-. Hahaha, not like IIIII would ever make up an excuse ;D. Pssshaaaa.

Anyway! This story is almost over guys v.v! Like what... three more chapters? Dudes, this has been one hell of an angsty, emotional, and always fluuuuffffy ride, huh? It's been an amazing one to write, and I will always thank you guys for reading and reviewing this story :3. I never would have expected to see this fanfic having **169 (hahahahah 69!) **reviews :D.

So I'll make SURE to sit my ass down over easter break and get this story down and quick as possible :3. I already have plot bunnies attacking me, and I've been itching to rewrite MMBD and finish all my other fanfics.

So guys, read and enjoy chapter 29 of STI while I go out and look for someone who I can call Mufasa and they don't label me as a Lion King Nerd ;D.

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+Save the Innocent: A storm's brewing+

It was a stormy Saturday morning in terms of emotions.

Kaiba and Jou were having their usual arguments. That, as always, would lead to them having a festive romp to dispel their anger, frustrations, and whatever negative emotions were brewing inside of them until it was all cleaned out. Leaving only Love to grow and strive in its place.

Today was no different.

"You bloody idiot!" Kaiba screamed at his scowling puppy that was currently hiding his face beneath a pillow to drown out the noise. "I've told you a million times over that you're _not _supposed to go out late at nights; especially not for some stupid, teenage-hyped party!"

"Can you shut the fuck up, please?" Jou rolled over onto his stomach and pulled the bed covers up as far as they could go, exposing his naked feet in the process. He was dealing with one hell of a hangover and Kaiba's bitching really wasn't helping the major headache that clamped onto his skull any better.

"You wouldn't be dealing with this hangover if you had just stayed home last night." The brunette almost bit back another string of foul words and yelling until he saw his puppy wince underneath the covers. Maybe he was being a little too harsh on Jou. After all, the reason why he had flipped out in the first place was because he knew how much of a sexual beast Jou became from just the tiniest sip of alcohol. Jealousy had bitten the powerful CEO right in the buttocks with all the things that Jou could have got at during the party. Although the blonde groaned and moaned about how he didn't do anything _too _bad – as far as he could remember.

Another pang of pain rung through Jou's head, and the grip on his pillow tightened. He wasn't in the mood at all to argue with Kaiba. The two could go on for two days straight arguing about the silliest of things. Right now, though, even if his stubborn streak wanted to push the matter even more, the small, rational part of him that was screaming for him to shut up and just say 'I'm sorry' finally won out.

"Sorry…" the blonde mumbled lamely, too tired to add an 'I'm' or anything else for that matter.

Kaiba stood there, calmly hiding back the furious emotions that were still pent up inside of him. A huge part of him wanted to continue his yelling until he got a better apology, but the smaller – and obviously more rational part – was telling him that, at the moment, that sort of apology was all he was going to get from the hung over blonde. And trying to get anything more out of him could possibly lead to an even bitter fight between he two.

Sighing, the brunette slowly eased his way onto the bed. Sliding past too-thick covers, Kaiba adjusted himself so that one arm was wrapped securely around the blonde's waist, while his other hand went to thread through golden locks. He effectively pressed his body up against Jou's, silently smirking at the shudder he got in response while he pressed his warm lips against his flushed neck.

Jou whimpered – something he would say was caused by his headache and not by how good this was feeling – and turned to his side so he could bring Kaiba into a weak, but still pleasant, kiss before nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

"What are you doing…?" the blonde whispered, his breath sending the ends of Kaiba's hair to stand straight up.

The brunette casually shrugged and tightened his grip around his blonde, making sure their legs were firmly intertwined so the blonde couldn't try to make an escape any time soon. "I'm skipping work."

"What?" Jou bit onto his lip as another shockwave of pain rang through his skull, but it was instantly dulled when Curiosity began to take over. Never, _ever_, had the CEO taken a day off of work before. Not even when he was battling with a very dire case of pneumonia. Kaiba had found _some_way to make it to work and go throughout his day. So what made things different now that Kaiba would nonchalantly brush off work just to lie in bed together?

But that's when the answer hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Would you rather have me leave you all alone today to fend that horrible hangover by yourself?" when he got a lame groan in response, Kaiba smiled softly and continued, "I will admit that I was a tad bit out of line with my yelling, but you have to understand I was worried… and horribly… jealous."

Jou's face was still buried into the crook of Kaiba's neck, so the blonde wasn't able to see the prominent blush that scarred his lover's cheeks at the soft confession. Something Kaiba was very glad for as he knew the blonde wouldn't let him live it down that he blushed at something like that.

"No… I wouldn't," the blonde started out softly, but Kaiba could still hear the confusion edged in his voice. "But why were you jealous?"

Kaiba shook his head, holding back a groan of annoyance at his blonde's lack of reasoning. "You really don't know what you're like while drunk do you?" when cobalt eyes matched with confused golden brown ones, the CEO continued, "You're an absolutely beast once you get even one tiny _sip _of an alcoholic beverage. No matter how low the content in the drink is. I couldn't get a wink of sleep last night because I was so worried that things might have gotten… out of hand."

"Oh God Kaiba… don't tell me you thought I was going to cheat on yah, or something?" silence was Jou's pitiful answer that he really didn't want to get. Sighing, his emotions riling up his headache and overall bad mood even more, Jou lightly punched Kaiba in the gut, ignoring the deadly scowl he got from it. "Don't you fucking glare at me like that, Seto! You know for a fact that I've been controlling my beastliness when I drink. And another thing: I didn't even purposefully go for anything alcoholic. My drink was spiked, you freaking idiot."

Kaiba cocked an amused eyebrow. He was happy to know that his puppy didn't do anything too reckless last night. But he still wanted to confirm any and all suspicions before he gave up so easily. "So you didn't jump anyone's bones last night?"

Jou punched Kaiba in the gut again, although he couldn't bite back the laugh that wanted to escape his lips at his lover's choice of words. "No, Kaiba. The only thing that happened last night was that I passed out the minute the drink hit my system. And it was my cousin's birthday party anyway, so he made sure no one tried to jump me in my sleep."

"Good," thoroughly pleased, Kaiba kissed his blonde's forehead soundly before closing his eyes, hoping sleep would claim him soon enough. "I'm sorry…" were the last words to fall from the CEO's lips before sleep came and grabbed him in its clutches.

Although the words were soft, and probably not meant to be heard, Jou heard them loud and clear. A smile broke through on his lips as he chuckled tiredly. Sleep was slowly working its way onto him as well. 'Baka…' were his final thoughts before the two fell asleep in each other's arms.

+Save the Innocent: Let me lift your spirits up a little bit higher+

Yami opened his bedroom door slowly, peeking his head through the small crack that. His little aibou was currently covered by at least two sheets of blankets sleeping the morning away. Not that Yami blamed him, though. It was a lazy Saturday morning and if it weren't for the surprise he had been cooking up downstairs, he would have been snuggled up with his Aibou sleeping till late afternoon.

Smile placed proudly on his lips, and his surprise placed behind his back, Yami entered into the bedroom and crept inside, placing the surprise on the bed stand before easing himself into bed with his aibou.

"I hope you like this wake up call," he muttered almost devilishly as his tanned and nimble fingers slid underneath Yugi's over-sized tee and brushed against a pink nipple.

Yugi unconsciously let out a tiny whimper, and Yami had to check to make sure his little aibou was still asleep before continuing. He didn't want his little one to wake up _too _early for him to not have just a _little _bit of fun.

Smirking, Yami's fingers started to knead, rub, and pinch the hardening pink nub while his other hand went to cup the front of Yugi's boxer shorts. His little one instantly bucked his hips and mewled at the contact.

'He'll probably be waking up soon,' Yami thought with a small smile as he rolled the nipple in his fingers before giving it a rather hard pinch. His other hand had long ago dipped into those skimpy shorts and was jerking Yugi's weeping cock in fast but sure strokes.

Yugi let out a rather low and hot moan before his eyes completely fluttered open hazed with lust and confusion. "Y-Yami…?" he panted, highly confused on what was going on and completely unaware that his cheeks were dusted with a light pink out of the pleasure that was flowing through him.

"Morning, Aibou." The crimson-eyed teen whispered hotly against Yugi's lips before smashing them together in a deep and passionate kiss. His tongue expertly plunged inside his aibou's awaiting mouth and devoured every inch of that delicious cavern.

Yugi moaned even louder, bucking his hips to meet in time with Yami's strokes, and arching his back as his left nipple was being tortured mercilessly at the hands of his lover. He couldn't think straight at all. His heart was pounding rapidly against his chest. His breath was coming out in short, labored gasps. And his orgasm was slowly coming closer…

"Yaaamiii!" the little one let out before his orgasm rocked his whole body like a mighty title wave. His stomach clenched and unclenched, and his hips bucked uncontrollably, as his essence was poured along the lower part of his stomach and onto Yami's hand. He was completely intoxicated by the smell of his own seed, the feeling of lust heavy in the air, and the light, ticklish feeling of Yami's breath on his neck.

The crimson-eyed teen smiled to himself, pleasantly pleased that he was able to wake Yugi up in a way that would be enjoyable to the both of them. He brought his hand that he used to jerk Yugi off to his lips and lapped at the essence as he stared at Yugi from the corner of his eye. His little aibou was watching him with those lidded eyes that screamed that he wanted more.

And just from that look alone, Yami was finding it _very _hard to hold back his own growing desire to get off…

"Well… this is a nice way of waking me up." Yugi giggled, although the lust never disappeared from his eyes as he brought Yami into another heated kiss. "What time is it, though?" he asked albeit sluggishly and rolled over to his side to get a better view of the digital clock. "Dang it, Yami… you just _had _to jerk me off at 11 in the morning, didn't you?"

"If it makes you feel any better, you can do that to me one morning." Yami chuckled at the pout he got from his adorable aibou and brought him back into his arms again. His hips, however, didn't miss the chance to rub against Yugi's backside a few times for good measure.

"You're such a pervert," Yugi mumbled underneath his breath, trying his best _not _to jump into Yami's pants so early in the morning.

"I take that to offense, Aibou! Especially after all the time I took to make this part of the surprise so worthwhile for you in the first place."

"You mean there's more?" Yugi asked almost begrudgingly, giggling when he got a playful scowl in response. "Well what are you waiting for, Yami? Show me your surprise!"

"I can't…" Yami cooed and flipped them over so that his aibou was straddling his hips and he was lying comfortably on the bed with the perfect view of anything and everything his aibou would be doing in the short seconds to come. "You see… I'm currently dealing with an unattended boner right now…" he dropped his voice to sensually destructive levels and grinded his hips upwards for good measure, moaning at the contact and panting at the face he was able to see and rouse from Yugi, "And it would be a pain to walk around with it like this…"

"So… what would you like me to do about it?" Yugi dropped his voice a few octaves down as he sensually started to grind his hips against Yami's hardening manhood. His breath came out in pants, and his tongue flicked out to lick his dried lips. They were aching to kiss Yami's throbbing manhood that was grinding into him from below.

"I'll leave that up to you," the crimson-eyed teen's ever cocky grin grew wider as Yugi deftly zipped down the fly of his pants with only his bare teeth, pulled down his boxers, and started to devour the weeping cock before him. Yami groaned, his eyes rolling back and his head lolling side to side as the immense pleasure and heat coursed through his system.

Good God… Yugi could drive him absolutely insane with just the flick of his tongue…

"Nngh… Yes… Yugi… God that feels so good…"

Yugi swirled light circles on the tip of Yami's cock, his hand stroking the base of his manhood with fluid movements. He teased and played with it before engulfing the cock fully into his mouth. Yami let out the loudest moan as he tried to keep his hips from bucking up too much. He really didn't want to choke his aibou while he was receiving a really good blow job.

"Ohhh yess…"

His little one dipped his hand between his legs and started to stroke his own length as he sucked and nibbled on Yami's cock. As the pleasure and heat began to rise, and the moans and panting started to mix in the air and contribute to their own private show, Yugi's strokes started to get faster and faster as did his sucking until he felt that warm stickiness explode in his mouth along with his own load that coated his hand and spilled onto the bed.

Yugi smiled sheepishly, his mind and heart still buzzed with the pleasure that was flowing through him. It was surprising really, that after being together for nearly a year now that he would feel comfortable enough to do something like he had just done. But so far, with Yami, he felt like he could do absolutely anything as long as he knew tat hand that was intertwining with his would always be there for him… no matter what.

+Save the Innocent+

"Here you go. One stack of pancakes topped with a healthy amount of syrup – which basically means I drowned it – and a small slab of butter." Yami pushed the tray over Yugi's lap and kissed his forehead gently. "Enjoy."

"You're being oddly nice…" Yugi said in-between bites before cocking an eyebrow Yami's way, "So what did you do wrong this time?"

"Yugi, can't I do something nice for you _without _there being some hidden agenda behind it?" sighing when he realized pouting and using his puppy eyes to his advantage wasn't going to get him anywhere. "Alright, so maybe I broke the blender making your orange juice –,"

"– Yami!"

"But that's the only thing I broke this time." Yami added with a smile, bringing Yugi closer into his body. They were both sitting on the bed, Yami against the headboard and Yugi sitting in-between his legs eating breakfast. Obviously Yami didn't break the blender; Yugi knew about his culinary skills well enough to know that he could tell when Yami was joking. However, he would put it passed him if Yami broke at least _something_ making breakfast today. It was highly possible.

'But if this isn't an 'I-broke-something-please-forgive-me breakfast… then why the sudden occasion?' It wasn't that Yugi wasn't grateful for the surprise; he loved it when Yami showed random acts of kindness of love. Although at first he was always just a tad bit confused as to why Yami would do such a thing in the first place. And when he voiced his confusion, his heart fluttered at the answer that was given.

"Sometimes saying 'I love you' just isn't enough. I need to show you my love in other ways."

No one had ever said such sweet and meaningful words to him before. His heart swelled as the memory of that night swirled through his mind. He always prayed for someone like Yami to enter into his life, and now his prayers have been answered. Smiling to himself at the memory, Yugi dug into the rest of his pancakes feeling happier today than he was the whole week.

The loss of his alter ego – who he could literally call his guardian and best friend – hit him rather hard. A few days ago he refused to leave his own room because it felt like when Daisuke left, he took a huge chunk of his heart with him. It was like seeing the love of your life just walk out your door and never come back; leaving you alone in the corner to weep. The only difference was Daisuke was the ego he created with the uncanny resemblance to his old teacher whose sole purpose was to block out all the pain the little one felt at the hands of his stepfather.

He would always miss his alter ego, and he even wished that Daisuke was a _real _human being that he could touch and give his many thanks to. But, he was still very grateful for the man, real or not, because of all the many sacrifices he made just to keep him safe. And for that, Yugi's earlier tears stopped falling while the peace of understanding settled in.

Yami, who was pleased that his aibou had eaten his pancakes with a smile on his face, raked his fingers through that soft spiked hair he loved and smiled himself. "Glad to see you enjoyed your breakfast."

"It was better than I had expected, I'll admit to that." Yugi giggled and kissed Yami's puffed out cheeks soundly. "Thank you… really. I know you must have done this because of my recent sadness over the loss of Daisuke. But really, I'm okay with it now… My life right now is absolutely perfect that – although I hate to admit it – I would have no need for Daisuke anymore."

"I rather liked him," Yami said with a smirk, recalling the day he had met Yugi's alter ego at the mall. What an experience that was. "And you know I'll always give my thanks to him for all he's done for you." Without him, Yugi probably wouldn't even be _alive _right now, in the safety of Yami's arms.

Yugi giggled, allowing his memories of past conversations with Daisuke so skirt through his mind. "I'll definitely miss his weird sense of humor. Oh, and his sharp, blunt sarcasm he always used like a whip!"

The crimson-eyed teen watched his little one hum with happiness remembering old memories. 'He's more beautiful with a smile…' he thought to himself as his fingers unconsciously found and intertwined with Yugi's smaller digits. "Since you're obviously feeling better, why don't we go out for a little bit?" Lord knew Kaiba and Jou were probably off in their wonderful land of mid-morning romping, while Mokuba was probably in his own world of gaming. Hell, even Kio and Eiji probably had something going on today since Yugi's real father had made it his life's goal to bed the stubborn bartender.

So, Yami had made a plan to get out of the house once Yugi was fully contented. Which he was right now, so the crimson-eyed teen merely smiled and thought, 'What the heck, might as well!'

Yugi cocked an eyebrow, an amused smile tugging the ends of his lips as he tried to search Yami's eyes. He was already well aware of Yami's little devious streak – he was always making plans for _something _no matter what the heck it was. Laughing, Yugi lightly squeezed their joined hands and decided to play along with his lover's game.

"Alright… What exactly did you have in mind?"

Yami flashed a devilish smile, "You'll see…"

What an ominous foreshadowing indeed…

+Save the Innocent: It's Pure Fluff+

"Come on, Aibou; let's see you bowl one hundred!"

Yugi scowled at his obnoxious lover who was currently pigging out on a batch of nacho's and an overpriced large slushie. If he weren't in the presence of little kids, their parents, and the owners of the bowling alley he would have surely walked over there and kick Yami's perfectly sculpted and tanned ass.

'Why did I have to agree to do this?' he thought as he brought his way-too-heavy bowling ball up to his face, ready to let it fly. 'We could have just stayed home like Kaiba and Jou and snuggle! But no… he took me out here today for his own freaking enjoyment.' Oh well, it's not like Yugi couldn't have his own sense of twisted fun as well.

Smirking – something he picked up from leaving with the infamous CEO – Yugi brought his arm back for the backswing, only to release the bowling ball before the return trip, grinning as he heard Yami's pained voice echoing in his ears.

"Fuck… Yugi! That was my knee!"

Yugi flashed his all-too-innocent smile at his love and quickly ran over to place a kiss on the "abused" knee. "Oops, I have horrible butter fingers, Yami!" he giggled at the scowl he was on the receiving end of and leaned in closer so his breath tickled the outer shell of Yami's ear. "I'll definitely make up for this tonight…" Yugi purred, giving the reddening ear a gentle nip.

Yami shivered. Good God… he loved it when his aibou turned sexually deviant. Over the past couple of months – after all the murky and dangerous waters the two had to swim through – Yugi was becoming more and more forward. Mind you, he was still shy, adorable, and cute, but he could become a sexual beast when provoked in the right way.

And Yami provoked him quite a bit…

"God… I can't wait till tonight, Aibou."

Yugi giggled and winked, "Then we'll turn of the lights and hide underneath the covers…"

"Sounds kinky," Yami replied with a wink of his own before turning his aibou back to their game of bowling. "No go finish up your game so we can hurry on home!"

"Alright, alright!" Yugi made it to the lane – albeit a little slow just to mess with Yami – and took his time getting into the right position to send the bowling ball down the lane.

"Yugi…!" Yami whined from his seat. As Yugi's sexually deviant side came out to play, Yami noticed that his little one could be quite sadistic in teasing him however he wished.

"You can't rush me, Yami. I'm aiming for a strike." Smiling his head off, Yugi finally released the ball and let it roll of his fingers and down the lane with a zing. He rooted for his ball as it dashed down the greased lane, and whooped with joy as he landed himself a perfect strike.

"Well done, Yugi!" Yami laughed, grabbing Yugi by the waist and hoisting him upwards. He twirled around in a small smirk, all too hyped by his over all fun game of bowling to care about all the looks he was possibly getting from people. 'Ah well, might as well give them something to look at.' And with that thought in mind, he brought Yugi down to place a very passionate and deep kiss right on those deliciously pink and plump lips.

Yugi laughed, his cheeks painted a rosy pink from all the swirling emotions inside of him. His world truly was perfect right now, and he couldn't have asked for anything better.

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FLUFFY CHAPTERS FTW! :D.

Now guys, for chapter 30... I need your help :/

I don't know whether or not to do Anzu's funeral scene, or just a Kio and Eiji oneshot.

You see... I think doing the funeral scene will help me later on, because if I haven't mentioned this before - which I probably have - I'm hoping to make a sequel for this, and I was planning on using Ryou and Bakura again... v.v. Because I have plans for them.. Mwahahaha!

But then my stick-up-the-ass other ego is all like "Why the hell would Yugi and co. go to her funeral you whack job?"

And well... YEAH!

So you guys help me decide! Funeral, Kio and Eiji, a mixture of both... or maybe something entirely different ;D.

Help would be nice :3.

Till next time! I'll DEFFY update sooner :3.


	30. Chapter 30

Look at me, updating early! It's the start of the apocolypse o:! Actually, I just felt like getting this chapter done and over with so I can start working on the epilgoue! Sorry guys, this chapter is technically the last one since I smashed two chapters together to make this one. My Funeral chapter and a spice of Kio and Eiji 8D. But I DID get to use Ryou and Bakura since they'll be playing a bigger role in my sequel.. althogh that's still in the works.

Anyway! I didn't want to call this chapter the end though (major contradiction, I know) because I wasn't really sastified with the ending... so I might just call 31 my Ending Epilogue... because I can o.o.

COUGHS! Anyway! Let me let you guys in on a littttleee secret 8D.

Originally I had wanted to end the story with Yugi dying from complications with a sickness - like AIDS. But after a while I abandoned the idea because I couldn't kill off Yugi D:. Even though I was a-okay with killing off Anzu... but.. eh... stuff happens o.o. So anyway! I have no idea how the story would have turned out if Yugi died, so I'm a little happy that I kept him alive in well :D.

**(Read! Thisss! :D.)**And secondly, I need your guys help! I'll say this twice incase people skip the beginning A/N. I've made two polls that are hopefully posted on my profile. One poll is to see which story that i have sort of abandoned people want me to pick up again. You can see the choices on the poll and then make your choice there. The second poll is what story you would like to see next. All the first chapters of the choices are posted on my mediaminer account, so go check out my profile for the link, read the first chapter, and vote for which one you like :D. Feedback would be great.

So sadly... STI is coming to an end... but I do hope you enjoy this second to last chapter :D. GO READ!

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+Save the Innocent: Flowers Speak+

Ryou smiled softly at his new floral masterpiece for the shop window. The bright blue hydrangeas contrasted so nicely in his eyes with the light purple chrysanthemums. "And to top it all off, a lovely shade of pink lilies sprinkled here and there – absolutely gorgeous."

"You do realize you're talking to yourself, correct?"

The snow-white-haired florist smiled as his boyfriend emerged from his small room in the back with a slight grimace on his face. Bakura could never – and would never – understand why Ryou had taken such a liking to those obnoxiously bright flowers. 'A black rose would suffice for me.' Dark, yet highly enchanting to the eyes – just the way he liked it.

Bakura stopped to rest his head on Ryou's shoulders, inhaling the fresh breeze of cologne that wafted through his nostrils. He smelled – and tasted, of course – absolutely delicious! And Bakura knew Ryou had splashed that very scent of cologne just to tease the living hell out of him.

Ryou merely patted Bakura on the head before going back to fiddling with his flowers, "The flowers like it when I speak, and I enjoy listening to them as well." Once he had wrapped a very bright red bow on the end of the stems, Ryou lifted the flowers upwards so the sun could perfectly capture their beauty. "They tell me some pretty interesting things, sometimes."

His boyfriend merely scoffed, shook his head, and flashed him a look that clearly stated 'you're absolutely crazy' before plopping himself onto a nearby stool behind the counter. He took this opportunity to stare at his hikari's perfectly round ass that was hugged by those khakis that he _loved _seeing Ryou wear.

'Although they would look all the more sexy on the floor… or around his knees…' Bakura smirked and wet his dried and anxious lips before cocking a trimmed eyebrow Ryou's way, "When you get like this you make me wonder if you love those horridly bright flowers more than you love me." If Bakura was the type to whine, there would be no doubt that his voice would be laced with gripes.

Ryou chuckled, placing his newly finished flower arrangement aside to pick up a golden yellow bow. He toyed and twirled the fabric around his fingers while a devilish smirk played across his face. "No necessarily. You see… just like a bouquet of flowers, I can tie you up with a bow like so." To clarify his point, Ryou fastened the bow around Bakura's neck and allowed his fingers to linger on that delicious looking neck, "And then I can touch you until you're withering with pleasure."

Bakura shuddered and let his eyes flutter closed at the touch. Only his hikari – his Ryou – could make him feel this way. Like his heart was about to jump out of his chest and run a marathon. Or like how his certain area was getting all hot and tight… He was completely and utterly under the control of this man's touch – and he fucking loved it. Normally though, it was Bakura – the calloused, gruffer, snappy, sarcastic (you're getting the point) – that took on the position of the dominant role, but there was still a part of him that loved the feel of the whip.

Although he'd never admit that out loud, his actions normally spoke for themselves in these situations.

"Now I feel as if I'm your personal sex slave."

Soft brown eyes crinkled with delight as Ryou leaned forward to trace Bakura's bottom lip with his tongue, "You wouldn't be too far off with that assumption…"

Darker brown eyes flashed with lust and want as Bakura growled deep in the back of his throat, and brought Ryou straight down into his lap, trapping his prey in a tight embrace. His fingers traveled up the back of Ryou's shirt, tickling his sides, before sliding them upwards to brush against dusty nubs.

Ryou moaned loudly as Bakura gave his left nipple a rather hard pinch. His back arched and he couldn't keep his hips from bucking up against Bakura's. The heat from such simple touches was driving him crazy!

The one with softer eyes grabbed his lover by the hair and brought their lips together in a passion filled kiss. Their tongues grinded together in a dirty and sloppy tango that went along to the melody of their moans. Teeth latched onto bottoms lips to pull and suck on, only to lap at them with moist tongues before plunging straight back in.

They were so enrapt in their own world of pleasure that they didn't even hear the sound of the bell chiming to announce someone was walking into the store. Nor did they even notice the sound of suede ankle boots clicking away on the tiled floor until coming to a complete stop at the counter.

"Ehem…" Duke arched an amused eyebrow behind his tinted shades as he released an awkward cough, "You guys maybe my best friends and all, but I don't think anyone else will take it too kindly that you guys are humping like bunnies in heat when you should be attending customers."

Bakura scoffed – it wasn't like anyone who they _didn't_ know had just entered the store – making no inclination at all that he was going to release Ryou's buttocks from his grip anytime soon.

Ryou looked of his shoulder, his snow white hair resting nicely to frame his blushing cheeks, as he gave his best friend a calm smile. As if having someone walking in on them was an everyday occurrence. Which is was seeing as they had a _lot _of sex in the flower shop before.

"Good afternoon, Duke. You're here earlier than expected."

The emerald-eyed man snorted and pushes his sunglasses up to his hair, pulling back some of his bangs from his face, "No, I came here by 1:30 – just like we had arranged." He smirked, "It's not my fault you guys can't keep it in your pants long enough to attend to your favorite customers."

Bakura mirrored the smirk his friend Duke had just given in. Right now, he was _very _horny, and Duke's overall cockiness made him want to just slip in his hardened cock right into Ryou's tight heat and have his way with him right on the counter top. It was mostly because he loved seeing his hikari moan and whither beneath him, and because Duke's reaction every time he actually walked in on the sex part was absolutely hilarious.

So, because Bakura was the devil he was, he slipped a warm digit into that tight heat he loved so much and wiggled it around, his cock twitching at the slight groan Ryou gave as a reaction. "You should really be used to this by now," he smiled nonchalantly, "It's not like you're a freaking saint yourself, Dukey."

Emerald eyes flickered with an emotion that passed far too quickly for either man to decipher. "I'm trying to get better," Duke mumbled more to himself more than Ryou or Bakura. And it was true. After Anzu's betrayal and death, taking custody over the newborn baby boy that he was now learning how to raise, Duke had to literally sit down one night to reassess his life one more time.

He needed to straighten out his priorities now that he had to a small, new, and fragile life to protect and care for. Money wasn't much of an issue – with his dad's job and all the money he earned from his… 'business transactions', he had enough of it saved up to last him a while. And it wasn't like he didn't have a decent job either – although he was still looking for one. However, what used to be the steering wheel of his life – the drugs, the sex, the partying – he had to throw it all away for his son.

It would definitely be a long and hard road, for sure.

'But it would be all worth it…' he thought to himself, 'If it means I'll be able to grow my son in a stable environment of love and support.'

Ryou, who had finally gotten himself off of Bakura, couldn't help but notice his friend's sudden solemn behavior as he fidgeted with the buttons on his shirt. He could tell by the way Duke's normally bright, emerald eyes had changed to a darker, moss green that something must have been eating him up on the inside. Duke was the sort of person that was driven by his emotions – hence why he had such a heavy addiction to the drugs, the sex, etc. But Ryou knew that his best friend – no matter how much he denied it – would always wear his heart on his sleeve.

"Nice attire…" he spoke softly. The colors of the clothing Duke was wearing spoke volumes of what would happen later today.

Duke merely glanced down at his clothes, picking off the imaginary dirt from his black shirt in means of avoiding eye contact. He was dreading this day so much because he had no idea how well he'd be able to control his emotions. He would try to keep a straight face and a tight leash on the waves of sadness that would be raging through him as he witnessed Anzu's casket being lowered into the ground and buried with dirt, but he was fairly certain that his walls would crack the minute the preacher started to speak.

From the flower shop, the cemetery and church where the funeral would take place was only fifteen minutes away. And Anzu's funeral was in less than an hour, so Duke had decided to kill some time before he actually had to be there. Although, in reality, he knew it was an excuse to not have to look at Anzu's cold, lifeless face staring up at him.

Just thinking about the funeral over and over again was keeping Duke on edge. He was hiding it fairly well with his shades, but the rims of his eyes were red from lack of sleep. The baby always needed to be watched, so he decided to let the baby sleep next to him since he hadn't gone out to buy a crib yet. But in reality, he just wanted to be closer to the infant in hopes that seeing its peaceful and innocent face could lull his uneasiness and drag him into the clutches of sleep.

Secondly, his mind was consumed by thoughts of what he'd be expecting the minute he stepped into the church.

Would he have angry words thrown at him likes knifes by enraged parents?

Would he be blamed for Anzu's death and looked down upon?

Or was his worrying all for nothing because they wouldn't accept him at the door?

Duke rubbed his throbbing temples soothing as he let out a heavy sigh. He was at least somewhat happy that he made the decision of leaving the baby at home with his father; although that was yet another inner battle he had to fight. Whether or not he should allow Anzu's parents to see the baby, but he supposed that if they really wanted to see it, they would come and seek him out eventually.

Bakura snickered at his friend's scrunched up face and couldn't pass off the chance to comment on it, "God you look like someone just shoved a huge tree right up your ass." Duke growled at his sniggering friend and grabbed the flowers that Ryou must have arranged for him while he had gotten lost in his thoughts.

"Don't mind him. Bakura's an idiot when it comes to sympathy and voicing what he really feels." Ryou smiled brightly at the scowl he was able to rouse from Bakura, and the smile he was able to drag onto Duke's lips. "What he really wanted to say to you was that you shouldn't frown like that. Your smile's the one that attracts people to you the most." He placed a comforting hand on Duke's shoulders, "You're going to be a great father. And it's not like you're going to be raising it all alone."

"Of course, I'm expecting to become the brat's godfather if you expect me to baby sit."

The emerald-eyed man cracked a huge smile at the two people he knew would always have his back. Ryou and Bakura would always be his large pillars of support when he needed it the most as he started his new way of life. And as he walked out the door, shades placed on his face although the sun was covered by huge clouds, he felt the confidence surge through every step he took towards the church.

'Anzu, wherever you are may it be Hell or Heaven, I'll make sure to raise your baby boy well.' He released a huge sigh as his hands came to grip the door handle of the church, before he stepped inside to the warm sound of heavenly music.

+Save the Innocent: Kio's POV+

Would you consider it a lack of human compassion that I felt no gut-wrenching guilt or any overwhelming sadness tugging at my heartstrings while Anzu's casket was being lowered into the ground? Eiji said that I shouldn't worry about it because – in his words – 'the bitch had it coming to her'. Honestly, I really shouldn't have been surprised by such a response, Eiji was always cold and indifferent to people, although I was slowly getting him warmed up to me.

But that's not really the point, at the moment. The point is, I still feel like a complete bastard for not feeling anything at all. No queasiness of the stomach or random acts of insanity was coursing through me, just a heavy emptiness at the pit of my stomach. Now I know that Yugi must have gotten his level of empathy and compassion from his mother because as I glance across the scarce crowd of about thirty people – possible friends and family members – my eyes land upon the shaking form of my son.

He's clutching onto Yami's hand like a life line, and I know just by seeing how violently his body's shaking that this is hitting him harder than it should have been. When he had gotten word from Duke a few days ago that Anzu had committed suicide, everyone expected Yugi to have broken down in tears, but he surprised all of us by keeping a steely expression and asking Duke about when and where the funeral would be held. So you have to see that seeing Yugi how he is now – like the whole world just slipped from underneath him – was very surprising.

And I should be there right now, standing beside him with an arm around his shoulder in a fatherly embrace, but Yami was already there, one step ahead of me, so I simply backed off. Not that I minded, there would always be time to hug and comfort Yugi, but right now I felt it was right for him to receive the support of his friends who had stood by him through Hell and back.

My eyes don't stay focused on Yugi for too long, and soon they fall upon the stiff forms of Anzu's parents who are standing a few feet away from the lowering casket. Of course I didn't expect much of a reaction from Anzu's father, what I was told about him from Yugi was that he was a hard as nails retired military sergeant. What I was really surprised about was the solemn expression on Anzu's mother's face. It was like someone had placed a whole truckload of cement just to keep that same look. But I could tell that the sadness and grief of losing her only child was eating her up. It wasn't by the way she was standing, but by the air around her. It was grim, dark, and depressing just like today.

And finally, there was Duke who – like Anzu's parents – was trying hard to keep a calm face, but he was failing miserably at it. His whole body was shaking, and every once in a while I could hear the faint sounds of a hiccupping sob come from him and travel through the air. It hurts like a thousand needles puncturing your skin when you have to come to terms that the person you loved was gone, dead from the world. I know because I've went through the same thing with Haruhi. I could totally empathize with Duke's feelings right now, and I'm somewhat impressed with how much he's trying to reign in his emotions.

But not only had that, to take on Anzu's child although it was the creation of another man she had been cheating on him with, taken a lot of heart and a lot of love. When I tried to switch roles, place myself in Duke's shoes, I nearly scolded myself on how I would have handled the situation. But Duke… I bet he didn't even have to think twice about taking custody of that baby, and that in my eyes shows how beautiful a human being can be in this world that only wants to bring out the ugly in people.

I'm going to have to remember to talk to him later after the burial.

"You're thinking too hard," Eiji's steeled voice, that hid every single emotion I knew must be flowing through him at the moment, fell on my ears as he stands close enough for our bodies to be touching, but not quite enough. He was never the type of person up for public display of affections, but like I said earlier – I was slowly warming him up to a lot of new things.

"Funerals will do that to you." I reply nonchalantly, gulping silently it suddenly starts to drizzle once I couldn't see the casket anymore.

Eiji followed my gaze to Duke, who was the kneeling to the ground as close to the burial ground as he could be, before looking back at me with those green eyes that melted my heart every time I got lost in them.

"He's going to be okay," as if he could read my thoughts – which he probably could since my emotions read on my face – Eiji does something I never really expected him to do. He slid his hand into mine and intertwined our fingers together. The empty feelings that I had had once before were washed away instantly as the warmth, heat, and love of Eiji's silent touch coursed through my system.

I smiled goofily as I catch his cheeks turn a pale pink although he tries to turn his head away from me, but I'm not going to have any of that. Gripping the right side of his cheek gently, I coax him to stare me right in the eyes. Green clashed with dark purple, both of us getting lost in the other. Like some magnetic force, our lips were drawn until they brushed together softly; sending electric tingles up and down my spine. I thank the Lord for the slight dreariness and fog that hid our affection.

When our lips parted, we both smiled softly, and I squeezed our hands together once more. For now, things looked bleak and dreary – like the drizzling rain, the dark rolling clouds, and the heavy fog that covered the cemetery. And for a few individuals, today would be the first start of their new lives, while others are finally settling into the happiness that they were deprived of for way too long.

So as we stood there, my family, Yugi's friends, Eiji, and Yami in the middle of the dissipating crowd, with the sun peaking through the clouds to warm up the air, I realize that there is such a thing as redemption, no matter who you are, or what you've done… you've always have that second chance to be saved.

* * *

Hopefully you all enjoyed! I didn't think it would have flowed if i centered this story around Yugi and Yami... so I kind of ended it in Kio's POV. So I hope that's okay :D. Hahaha. Anyway! **GUYS! Check out my polls to vote for which stories you'd like me to continue (Obviously I'm still continuing Akatsuki Cosplay Cafe) along with voting for which story you'd like to see next! I need feedback please :3.**

Alright... time to get to work on chapter 31... the final chapter... -tears up- I DON'T WANT THIS TO END... but it must.. -stays strong- Till next time, everyone!


	31. Chapter 31

Guys! This is the end of our journey! And I'm really sad to be saying good bye to Save the Innocent, I enjoyed writing this story to the fullest! Thank you one and all for always supporting me and urging me to write more - you've guys made this possible for me to finish this story strong!

I rewrote the last part of this chapter a couple of times... and I'm pretty content with how I ended it. So I hope you guys are too!

**Warning: Chapter starts out roughly around midnight - I'm saying this because... well.. you'll see haha. LEMON! INVOLVED! BECAUSE I LOVE LEMONS! And a beautiful ending (:**

Now read, and enjoy, the final chapter of Save the Innocent!

* * *

+Save the Innocent: It's the Start of a New Beginning+

Yugi smiled at his reflection in the mirror, adjusting the rim of his graduation cap so that the little flap didn't fall in his eyes. It was a long year, but they were finally at the end. Graduation day was only a few hours away and Yugi was absolutely pumped!

'Although the minute I walk on stage to give my speech I'll probably burst into tears.' He chuckled quietly and examined himself once more in his graduation robe. A few altercations to the outfit here and there had made it flow effortlessly along his body. "I should probably take this off. Knowing my luck I'll get this robe dirty before Graduation."

Albeit reluctantly, the little teen took off the robe and laid it gently on the bed. His hands caressed the soft fabric, his mind in a whirl about what was going to happen today. He had already had his speech memorized from long ago, although he'd admit he was surprised when they had chosen him to be Valedictorian for his class. In his opinion, Kaiba should have been chosen in stead, but the brunette made no inclinations that he was cross about the decision.

Besides, the principal had told Yugi straight up that he knew that his speech would leave an impact on the student body. Whether or not the principal knew what Yugi had been going through most his life was neither here nor there, but the little one was still honored that the principal thought so highly of him, and accepted the reward.

Yugi let out a sigh he didn't realize he was holding and flopped onto his bed. For the most part he had about 75% of his speech done and memorized. All through out the week he'd been going over it with his friends and family, asking for their opinion on certain things. Although he made sure to keep a few parts of it secret till today, that drove Kio and Yami absolutely insane.

"Yugi, as your father I have the right to know all your secrets!" Kio slammed his fists down on the dining room table trying to look as menacing as possible. But he just couldn't keep a straight face at all and his mask was cracking.

"And as your boyfriend, Yugi, I also have the same rights as your father does!" Yami tried to look as cross as he possibly could but the look that screamed, 'Yeah right' on Yugi's face made him burst out in laughter after three seconds.

So, he was able to keep a majority of his speech under wraps for now. Surprising as it seemed, he really wasn't that nervous at all about delivering his speech. Sure, he'd be talking to a crowd of about one thousand people – or more – for over five minutes about the many hurdles of school life and how this was only the beginning and not the end to the rest of their lives.

'I can pretty much fill the gap in with whatever comes to my mind,' he pouted slightly at the thought not going well and shook his head. 'No, that could crash and burn very quickly…' Yugi sat up from his lying position on the bed and leaned over to grab his sketchbook. Who knows, maybe drawing would help get those creative juices flowing?

So Yugi started to draw. It wasn't a single, I-have-what-I-want-planned sketch, but rather a linking block of thoughts coming together. Disjointed becoming jointed as his pencil made marks and scratches that scarred the paper. He chewed on his bottom lip, stopping every once in a while to assess his progress. When he found something that could have been adjusted a different way, he would erase it vigorously and try again.

It wouldn't be perfect until he was completely satisfied with it.

This went on for awhile as Yugi got lost in his own world of creativity and imagination. He was so enrapt in his drawing he didn't notice the creeping figure of his father lurk through the room. Nor did he even realize that his father had latched onto him in a tight embrace and refused to let go until he was noticed.

"That looks really good, Yugi." Kio chuckled when Yugi nearly jumped six inches off the bed. He probably would have rocketed even higher if Kio didn't have such a grip on him. His chuckle grew even louder at the attempted glare Yugi tried to give him. Yugi was just too cute to give anyone an effective death glare.

"You could have warned me you were coming in," Yugi released an exasperated sigh, but in reality he was quite happy to have his father here to liberate some of the stress. Over the past two years, Yugi and his father had grown very close as if they were never even separated by the cruel hands of fate. His father had easily won a good portion of his heart, and he knew that he could trust his father with almost anything.

"I thought I did," his father shrugged although that goofy smile on his face tipped Yugi off that Kio was full of crap.

"Sure you did, Dad, sure you did." It has also become a habit for him to become so familiar with his father. "So, what did you want?"

"Tch, don't get snappy with me, brat." Kio ruffled Yugi's hair lovingly, chuckling when his hand was swatted away. Although he did notice the slight blush that stand Yugi's cheeks from the affection. "I'm your father; I have the right to barge in on you whenever I want."

"Alright, Dad, not that you're done abusing your false sense of authority, what do you want?" Yugi stuck out his tongue childishly at the mock look of offense on his father's face. God, his dad could be such the drama king when he wanted to be.

"Well, I wanted to give you the whole spiel about how proud I am of you and how much you've accomplished and grown over the years, but you already knew that. So I decided to drop that tactic and go for a whole new approach." Kio scratched his thin thoughtfully as he tried to piece together his thoughts, "I know that tomorrow is going to be the start to the rest of your life, and you'll be heading off to college soon in a few months. But dammit Yugi… if I could tie you up and lock you in a closet, I would. I've finally met you after all those years of separation… and now it's you who's leaving me." His voice was so caught up with those emotions he tried to hide ever since the final days of Yugi's senior year started to slip away.

"Oh Dad…" Yugi smiled through the tears that seemed to have fallen done his face. He really didn't want to leave so soon either. But this was the art college of his dreams! A full four-year scholarship was his after the college dean had come to visit the school one day to check out the art program. His eyes had instantly landed on Yugi's artwork, and well, you can figure out what happened next.

"We've grown so close in the past two years, it's amazing. And honestly, I don't want to leave either. But Tokyo's only three hours away from here. And it's not like I'm not going to visit you every chance I get."

Kio sniffed – refusing to cry over his son's heartfelt words (the tears could come later) – and hugged Yugi closer to his chest. He whispered a silent, 'I love you' followed by a kiss on the head before they pulled apart.

"You know Eiji's going to raise Hell if you don't keep your word."

"Well if he gets too excited, I'm pretty sure you can find _some_way to take his mind off of things." Yugi winked devilishly at his father.

Kio scoffed – ignore the rampaging blush attacking his face – and ruffled Yugi's hair obnoxiously, "You've grown into such a brat…"

+Save the Innocent: There's a Light in the Darkness+

Their hands were clasped together, hidden by their flowing dark robes. It wasn't that they were trying to be secretive about their relationship – that had flown out of the bag a long time ago – it was just that they loved the feeling that they were hiding something from people. Yugi and Yami merely wanted to hold on to their "little secret" for just a while longer.

"Look at Mokuba." Yami whispered into Yugi's ear, "He's not even graduating, yet he's already bawling his eyes out on Eiji's shoulders."

Yugi giggled while his eyes started to scan the crowd, instantly landing on Mokuba in the sea of people despite the blinding stage lights in the way. "I guess his tough act earlier today about how he wasn't going to miss Kaiba and Jou when they head off for college was just an act after all."

Yami scoffed, rolling his eyes at the statement. "Mokuba can't lie to save his life. I completely saw that play a mile away, Yugi."

The principal began his speech as the two continued their hushed conversation on stage. They really should have been paying attention to whatever wise and invigorating words the principle had to say, but honestly they only had to tune in Yugi's name was being called.

"Besides," Yami continued after a few applauses calmed down, "the kid wears his heart on his sleeve most of the time."

Yugi nodded along, drawing lazy circles on Yami's hand as he spoke, "You know… I've never fully understood why Kaiba stayed in school as long as he did. You'd think he would have skipped it all together since he's pretty set for life."

"I've actually thought about that too," Yami started out slowly after a moment of thought. "So one day I walked up and asked him why he chose to stay. At first he scoffed at me, saying that he was offended on how he thought I was implying that he quits things half-way through." He scoffed, remembering the look of completely feigned disbelief on his cousin's face. "Then I told him to drop the drama queen act and tell it to me straight. He just shrugged his shoulders and said he had his eye on someone that he wasn't about to let slip through his fingers."

Yami smiled, turning his head to the middle section where Kaiba was currently whispering things into Jou's ears, causing a massive blush to spread and take over his face. Honestly though, it wouldn't be that hard to guess that the CEO probably said something extremely perverted to get that sort of reaction from Jou.

"That's the power of Love, I suppose." Yugi said quietly, a soft smile tugging his lips as he rested his head on Yami's shoulder.

Yami smiled back at his aibou and leaned his head to rest on top of Yugi's, "Love can do some pretty wondrous things."

They both continued to talk about other things that popped into their minds at the moment until Yugi's name was called and he had to take his spot behind the podium. He gripped onto the sides of the podium, urging his heart rate to beat at a normal pace and for his body to stop sweating so awkwardly.

'I've practiced this a million times, Yugi.' He reminded himself as he took a silent gulp and closed his eyes. Trying to calm his nerves was harder than he had expected, but he was able to get them stable enough that the moment he opened his eyes, he wasn't compelled to make a beeline for the door.

What he thought would turn into deafening silence awaiting his speech, turned into thundering applause as Mokuba, Eiji, and Kio – along with a few others – stood up to give a standing ovation. He hadn't even said anything and yet he had the whole crowd in frenzy! Even some of the graduates stood up to show their appreciation. The praises were happily accepted, and he praised the Lord that no one would be able to see the blush that was staining his cheeks and giving them a rosy color, at the moment.

He waited for the applause to die down before he tackled his nerves again in an attempt to remain calm. 'Just take a deep breath and breath, Motou.' He reminded himself as his eyes washed across the sea of people one last time before he looked down to stare at his notes. 'Everything's going to be just fine.'

And then… he finally let it go. The unease and the nervousness all washed away as he dove into the first few words of his speech. Being replaced by the overwhelming confidence that by the time he was finished, he would have already captivated his audience in his words.

"I would have never seen myself standing here before you all today. But, Principal Toshima said I would have had a lot to offer with this speech – although I had no idea what he meant by that, at first. So, when I got home that night, I sat down and thought for hours trying to grasp the meaning of those words. And now… I think I know."

"It seems like no matter how much we try to run, Darkness will always find a way to cling to us like a shadow. Fear instantly settles instelf in our hearts once we can't see our way through the dark. We try to run, but we end up going in circles because there's no Light to guide us."

Yugi swallowed thickly, taking a deep breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Everything was going good so far. But he couldn't stop the swirling butterflies in his stomach from stopping their assault long enough to continue his speech. Luckily for him, the crowd was in complete silence, completely enrapt in his words. This alone was enough to fuel him with some courage to continue.

"I, myself, was trapped in the darkness. But unlike others who were trapped, I never thought I'd find the light I was searching for. Days turned to weeks. Weeks turned into months. And months turned into years, but nothing had changed. I was still being engulfed deeper and deeper into the clutches of Darkness. I would sit there… completely giving up on the fact that I'd never find anyone to save me from the day to day pain…"

"But then one day I saw that small flicker of Hope flash through the darkness. Hesitation hit me first – I didn't know how to react, how to feel, how to control my emotions – and then the dire need for Salvation drove me to run for that light. I ran, and I ran, and I ran. Stumbling here and there, but the closer I got to it – the brighter and larger it became. Until I saw that smiling face and hand reaching out for me to grab it."

He paused, taking a quick sip of his water before continuing. He was more confident now in his words and his ability to connect to the audience on an emotional level. Yugi wanted to turn around and see the faces of Yami, Kaiba, and Jou, but knew that would totally throw off his momentum. The 'secret' of his speech was finally being told, and he wanted to make sure that certain people were getting the message hidden beneath his words.

"Ever since I've grasped onto the light, I've found Love, the family I've been searching for, and the greatest friends in the world who I know will always have my back. I'm thankful everyday for the miracle that was bestowed upon me…" he released a sigh and smiled brightly at the crowd before him, "So I leave everyone today with this: the Darkness is always going to seem terrifying. It's always going to be a horrible place to fall into, but you can't give up Hope. Your light will come find you one day too."

"To the Senior Class of 2011, a whole new door has been opened for us that we have to go through. So leap through it guys! The rest of our lives are waiting for us on the other side of that door. Let's keep striving through the Darkness as we follow the Light into a whole new world. Because today isn't the end, oh no… it's the start of a brand new beginning."

Yugi stepped away from the podium, bowing slightly to the crowd. His heart was thumping for through his ears, eagerly awaiting the response he was yearning for from the beginning of his speech. A few seconds later, and the sounds of a roaring crowd flooded his hearing, causing a rapid smile to take over his features. With another bow, Yugi returned to his seat, beaming with pride as Yami gave him a look that showed absolute pride and joy as they awaited their names to be called to receive their diplomas.

+Save the Innocent+

Yami growled playfully, tugging at the sensitive skin between Yugi's neck and collarbone until there was a reasonable red mark before kissing the abused skin. Yugi moaned at the careful movements performed by Yami's tongue as it swirled and lapped until the pleasurable pain retreated.

Their naked bodies were tangled together, hands clasped in an unbreakable bond, while their lips dove together in a passionate kiss. Yami's tongue was the first to beg for entrance. It swiped its way across Yugi's bottom lip, earning a moan in response and took the opportunity to plunge inside that deliciously warm cavern. Tongues touched, causing fireworks to go off throughout the others body, as they sensually rolled and danced against each other.

Lips came apart with a silent plop. Yami was the first to react. He rested his weight on his elbows, placing his forehead against Yugi's as he stared into those eyes lovingly. His aibou was so cute with his face flushed a dusty pink and his eyelashes brushing against his porcelain skin. But what he loved the most was those amethyst eyes of Yugi's. Those very same eyes that spoke a thousand words with just a simple glance in his direction.

They could make his legs turn into a bowl of jelly and his heart swirl all at once.

His fingers traced Yugi's cheek, before his whole hand came to cup that beautifully shaped face. Yugi leaned into the touch, nuzzling the warm hand and kissing the palm softly. Yami leaned forward, brushing their lips together while his hand started to travel across Yugi's pale abdomen and straight to that tight opening to be stretched and teased with as he pleased.

Yugi bucked his hips the minute he felt that sly little digit bury itself into his hole. He mewled, the pain instantly being flooded out with pleasure as Yami's finger moved around – getting him adjusted for what would come next.

"Y-Yami… faster!" Yugi pleaded, wrapping his arms around Yami's neck and pulling them closer.

Another digit slipped in, and soon he in and out prodding turned into a full scissor motion – completely driving Yugi insane. He wanted Yami to be buried deep inside of him. He wanted that connection that only making love could bring. When two bodies were in complete unison, moving together to bring the ultimate climax – that was the feeling he was yearning for right now.

Finally, a third finger was inserted, and those skillful digits brushed against the sensitive bundle of nerves that caused stars to flash across Yugi's vision. He threw his head back and allowed a deep, animalistic, moan erupt from his lips. The moan went through Yami's ears and straight through his hardened cock. God… he wanted to be inside of Yugi so bad…

"Yugi…" he whispered sensually into his little one's ear, giving the flesh a delicious nip to the ear, "I'm going to enter you."

The only response he got was a buck of the hips and a small moan from Yugi's lips, enough of an indication that Yugi wanted that to happen _right _now.

Growling, Yami positioned himself between Yugi's legs, pressing his lips firmly against Yugi's as he slowly pushed himself forward. Instantly he was encased with a warm tight heat that rocked his body to the core. Yugi was withering beneath him, whimpering at both the pleasure and the slight twinges of pain that was flowing through his system. It took all of Yami's willpower not to go complete gorilla right there and then.

A few seconds passed, and finally Yami moved. It was deliberate and sharp, sending Yugi's back up into an arch. The move struck his prostrate head on, causing his mind to completely go blank. He couldn't think straight. All he wanted was to feel. To feel Yami's cock move out all the way to the tip, before slamming right in with brutal force.

The sound of skin smacking against skin mixed with the moans and growls and words of "faster" and "more" filling the air. Normally, they preferred a slower pace rather than a fast and rough one, but their emotions needed an escape today. The nervousness of starting a whole new journey mixed in with the excitement of their graduation finally over. This faster, rougher way of sex was frying their senses and utterly sweeping them away in the passion.

Yami reached in-between their sweaty bodies to pump Yugi's erection in time to his thrusts. Yugi's hips bucked erratically and his stomach clenched as he felt that warm orgasm approaching soon. He wrapped his arms tightly around Yami's neck and crashed their lips together to bury out his scream as he came violently on both their stomachs.

Yami's orgasm quickly followed as Yugi's walls clenched around him, milking out every bit of his seed as he collapsed on top of him. Their panting breaths intermingled around them, both trying to calm down their accelerating heart rates. The sex was fulfilling, meaningful, and absolutely satisfying.

The crimson-eyed teen scooped his breathless aibou into his arms, kissing his forehead, the tip of his nose, his left and right cheek gently before burying his face into the crook of Yugi's neck and kissing that spot as well.

Yugi giggled, sighing happily as he closed his eyes at the feeling. The warmth that he instantly found in Yami's touches made his heart and soul at peace. Yami was _definitely _the light that had saved him from the darkness; the light that had brought him into this new world of Love and Happiness. He would always be forever grateful to Yami for reaching out his hand and pulling him from Kyouske's clutches. Although he has no idea how exactly he could repay Yami for all he's done, he knew recuperating his love would be enough of a thank you for the both of them.

They lay there together, legs tangled up, hands clasped, and heartbeats beating in perfect synch until a knock on the door interrupted their lazy thoughts all at once.

"Oi, if you two are done with your graduation sex, we've got a party to go to!"

Yugi groaned, not really wanting to get up at all just to annoy Eiji even more – even though that would result in one serious smack upside the head. Sighing, Yugi reluctantly pushed himself out of Yami's embrace and swung his legs over the bed, pulling Yami along with him.

"Might as well do as he wants, we can cuddle more later." Yugi walked over to his closet and pulled out the first thing he saw, tugging them on his body and fluffing out his hair before splashing on a bit of cologne to mask his 'after sex smell'.

Yami smirked and wrapped his arms around Yugi's waist, fully clothed but still not ready to get his mind straight that they couldn't go for another round, "We can cuddle now, and laugh while Eiji goes on another one of his rants."

"True," Yugi mirrored the smirk, but pulled Yami by the wrist to their door, "but the last time we did that, Eiji nearly threatened to tie us up and drive us around Domino naked to publically embarrass the both of us."

"I thought he was completely serious that time," Yami blanched at the memory as they both descended down the stairs where their friends and family would be waiting for them in the living room. "Kio even had the ropes supplied and everything…" he shook his head as he plopped onto the couch beside Jou, pulling Yugi into his lap.

"About time you guys finished up there," Jou rolled his eyes playfully and punched Yami's shoulder. "I thought you guys would never stop fucking."

Kaiba was the next to add in his own two cents. "You really should learn how to keep it in your pants, Cousin. I know you both are very happy to have finished your senior year, but honestly you guys are worse than Jou and I."

"Tch, at least I don't walk in on them doing it on the kitchen table…" Mokuba muttered under his breath, completely aware of the fact that Kaiba was giving him a glare that could freeze Hell over.

Yami scoffed, trying to stifle his bouts of laughter that Jou's next punch would seriously injure his arm. Instead, he tried to keep a straight face at his next comment. "Well, Yugi and I _were _talking about taking our sexual activities elsewhere. Like the counter top or the coffee table."

"And if we were _really_ horny we were going to try it out on the front lawn, too." Yugi smiled devilishly at the stunned looks he was getting in the room. What? Couldn't he play along as well?

Kio groaned, rubbing his hand over his eyes to block out the mental image of his son and his boyfriend getting it on anywhere else other than the bed. When he was certain he wasn't going to have an impending nightmares, he cracked open one eye to give a parental glare at his son, "Yugi, if I ever see you and Yami doing it outside of your room I will ground your ass into the next month."

"Sounds fair, Dad, we'll just have to do it when you're not around then."

The cheeky grin that he got from Yugi was enough to send him into a fainting spell.

Eiji cracked a smile, despite the glare he was getting from Kio, and patted his shoulder a couple of times – thoroughly enjoying all of this. "I think I might be rubbing off on him more than I realized." He casted a wink Yugi's way, "Good job, Kid, keep it up and you'll manage to get Kio to pop a blood vessel."

"Don't encourage him, Eiji!"

Yugi laughed whole heartedly at the easy banter everyone could slip into without even trying. It was an everyday thing now, to laugh and to have fun conversations with his family and friends (who he considered as family too). Something that he'd thought he'd never got to experience was no and everyday thing for him. And honestly… he enjoyed being apart of something warm and loving as simple conversation with the people you love.

Kaiba, smirking at Kio's and Eiji's argument, cleared his throat to gain everyone's attention. "As much as I'd love to stand hear and watch the two grown ups argue," he pointed a glance towards their way, but the two brushed it off nonchalantly, "we have a graduation party to attend."

"I call shot gun!" Mokuba cried, dashing for the door at breakneck speed.

"Damn it, Mokie, I _always_ ride shotgun!" Jou playfully scowled, running after Mokuba with the full intent of tackling him before he even reached the car door.

"Children," Kaiba muttered under but followed behind them anyway. A small smile was tugging at the ends of his lips as he watched Jou and Mokuba literally battle to reach the passenger seat.

"I guess we better head out for the car too, Yugi." Yami linked their fingers together and the two headed for the car. Both engaging in simple conversation about who they thought they were going to see at the party.

Kio sighed, leaning his head against Eiji's shoulder. Eiji's fingers instantly started to play with his spiky black locks.

"Something on your mind?" Eiji asked, although he was fairly certain he knew what was bothering Kio so much.

"It's just… I'm going to miss these guys once they go off to college." He sighed once more and looked up into Eiji's green eyes, searching for that silent reassurance beyond those irises. "Promise you won't go off and leave me too?"

Eiji scoffed, kissing the top of Kio's head softly before nuzzling into those midnight locks that smelled like strawberry vanilla, "Idiot…" he muttered softly. "I wasn't planning on leaving you in the first place."

With that said their lips met in a soft and short kiss before Eiji pulled Kio towards the door. "Come on. If we hurry up we can probably snag a seat in the back." He tossed a glance across his shoulder that held so many dirty things that Kio nearly blushed, "I can't promise you I'll keep my hands to myself though…"

Let's just say that the car ride was a _long _one to the party…

+Save the Innocent+

The summer air ruffled Yugi's hair softly as he knelt in front of his mother's grave. The clouds rolled across the sky, giving way to the sun's rays to skim across his face. His expression was completely sincere as he finished the last of his prayers to God hoping he'd continue to keep his mother safe.

"Hey, Mom, I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you for so long. A lot of things have happened since the last time I visited you. Although I'm pretty sure you know all about that, huh?" Yugi chuckled to himself, resting his head on his knees as he continued to gaze at his mother's tombstone. It was almost like he was talking to her face to face. He could see her smiling at him, giggling that melodious giggle that always made his heart feel lighter.

"I'll be going off to college soon. About three to four months if I remembered correctly. But just because I'll be apart from your gravesite, you'll always be living in my heart. And I know you're watching me from up there two." He smiled and placed a single flower on the top of the tombstone, "Kio said he'd come later on today to visit you. He would have come sooner but he was sort of… tied up in things." Yugi blushed, "He'll probably tell you all about that later. Anyway, Mom, I've got two more people I have to visit, so I'll come see you again really soon!"

He rested his hand on the cool stone for a few seconds, and then stood up to brush the dirt of his pants and to stretch. "I love you, Mom." He whispers traveled through the wind while he walked over to the next grave.

Yugi didn't have much to say at Anzu's or Kyouske's grave rather than saying how much he wished things could have been different. 'Even though if it weren't for them, my life wouldn't be like the way it is right now.' It was somewhat ironic really, the two people that brought him so much pain in his life brought him closer to the people he cared about in _some_way.

He placed a single flower on both their graves, and sent silent prayers hoping that wherever they were both of them were safe and enjoying a somewhat pleasurable afterlife.

Yami stayed a good few feet away, giving Yugi the time and space he needed to connect with the three people who affected his life the most. He wasn't too keen on the idea that Yugi wanted to buy a flower to place on both Anzu's and Kyouske's grave, but he knew Yugi must have had a legitimate reason for his kindness. His aibou could never find it in his heart to be cruel to anyone who did him wrong; which was something Yami admire greatly in Yugi because he didn't really know how well he would have handled the situation if he were placed in Yugi's shoes.

'I'd probably would have said good riddance and never look back on their tombstones,' answering his silently question, Yami didn't know whether to let that response go, or allow himself to change it. To others it might have sounded absolutely heartless, but to him it seemed like the right thing to do. 'Maybe my past has affected me more than I thought it did…'

He chewed on his bottom lip – a nervous habit he thought he had thrown away since childhood – too immersed in his own thoughts to hear the scuffling sounds of Yugi's shoes making its way through the grass to stand by his side. Nor did he notice when Yugi had linked their fingers together and reached up to peck him on the cheek.

"What are you thinking about?" Yugi cocked his head to the side.

Yami sighed, brushing his hair back with his hand to push his bangs away from his eyes, "I'm getting too caught up in the past…"

Yugi pouted and squeezed their hands for reassurance, "Bad memories?"

"You could call it that…"

"Would you like to talk to about it?"

Yami almost shook his head to the statement, but the minute his eyes landed on Yugi's own… he couldn't stop the words from flowing out of his mouth. "It's just that… you're amazing Yugi. And don't interrupt me to object, because I'm not done yet. You're doing things… that I myself – or probably anyone else – would never even _think _of doing. I mean… who do you know would actually have the heart to buy a flower for the gravesite of the person who made your life a living Hell? I surely wouldn't… and I have no idea if that's just how I am, or if it's because of my past that I feel this way. But Yugi…"

He pulled his aibou into a tight embrace, feeling instant comfort at the touch. Just hugging his aibou made him feel that he could have a big of a heart as Yugi did. And that thought made him feel ten times better. "I'm always saying how lucky I am to have met you. You've seriously changed me… although you probably wouldn't be able to see it, but I have. And it amazes me everyday how big of a change it is. Damn it, Yugi… I love you so much…"

Yugi's eyes prickled with tears that he refused to let escape. His arms around Yami's waist tightened as he buried his face into Yami's chest, enveloping himself in the warmth it created. "I love you too, Yami… But is there something about your past that you're not letting on?" he thought Yami had told him everything about his early years…

However, the look of uncertainty and fear flashed across Yami's features that made Yugi second guess himself.

"I'm sorry…" he muttered quietly. Whether it was to himself, or to Yugi, neither knew. "I can't talk about it now… but one of this days… before the past comes back to get me. I'll tell you."

Yugi rubbed comforting circles on the small of Yami's back. He didn't want to push the matter any farther than he had to, and let the subject drop for now. "I'm going to hold you to that, Yami… but you don't have to force yourself." He smiled brightly and stood on his tippy toes to give Yami a quick kiss on the lips, "Just tell me when you're ready to share. Now come on, we've got dinner waiting for us."

Yami smiled back, happy that Yugi was so easy to accept his touchiness with the subject. Just like he was patient with Yugi ready to tell him all about his past, Yugi was ready to be patient with him as well. And that thought made him feel a little more confident that he'd be able to share his secrets sooner rather than later.

Hand and hand, the two walked out of the cemetery and back towards the house; completely content with being in the other's presence in such a peaceful atmosphere.

From the heavens, God and Haruhi were watching with brilliant smiles on their faces.

"_You're very lucky to be blessed with such a child, Haruhi."_

_Haruhi smiled at God and nodded along, "I know… He's grown up to be such a wonderful person." _

She truly was happy for her son. Her little boy had been saved! The innocent child that she had sadly left behind in the world to fend for himself was now happily in love and enjoying the family he was deprived of for so long…

"_It seems like everyone does find their happy ending, after all."_

**The Innocent Has Been Saved**

**The End**

* * *

Honestly speaking, I thought I would have seen this story go up to 200 reviews, but eh, we can't all get what we wished for v.v. Sadly guys... this is the end! The finale! And like I said before... I really don't want this to end v.v. But I'm pretty confident of my sequel for this... but I have no idea when that will be coming out.

Once again **THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I LOVE YOU MY FAITHFUL READERS!**

And to all of you who haven't voted in my poll yet for what you'd like to see next... I know reading each and every story and then clicking to decide which one you want is tedious... so just choose one out of the list, read it, and if you'd like to see more of it, tell me and I'll make that my new project :D.

Also, before I shut up.. I was going to have the ending sort of leeaaaad into the sequel, but I was like "Forget it o.o" and just wait to use that as like an opening. Basically the sequel will be focused more on Yami's past and how it'll come to play in their relationship and future together... LOTS OF DRAMA YO!

Anywho, I'll continue to write, and you all will see more from me in the future! I love you guys (: (I probably said this about 234827 times now).

Would it be appropriate to say, "Till next time"? :P


	32. Author's Note on Sequel

**The Sequel Is Here!**

Hello everyone! Thank you all for your support over the past year with Save The Innocent. I know you've all been waiting patiently for the sequel to come, and I'm happy to say that I've finally got it posted! It's named **Every Grain of Sand**. If you'd like to know more about Yami's past, how it comes into play with the present, and if his relationship with Yugi will be able to stand the dangers that are soon to come, then read it o: I hope the sequel lives up to everyone's expectations! Sorry it took so long to find out.

Till next time! I will see you all in **Every Grain of Sand. **


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